Introduction

The Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA) is a professional non-profit organization uniting and representing all institutions and people working in libraries and information services in South Africa. It strives to unite, develop and empower all people in the library and information field into an organization that provides dynamic leadership in transforming, developing and sustaining library and information services for all people in South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

.

It advocates and supports the provision of efficient, user-orientated and excellent library and information services that aspire to equitable access to information for all communities (literate and illiterate) in South Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. It represents the interest of and promotes the development and image of library and information in South Africa, at local, provincial and national level to government and other agencies. LIASA also represents the LIS sector at international levels.

LIASA's membership consists of individuals interested in or working in libraries and information services and institutions or organizations that maintain or are interested in libraries and information services.

The Association is divided into 10 branches that reside in each province in the country with two based in Gauteng

Gauteng

Gauteng is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It was formed from part of the old Transvaal Province after South Africa's first all-race elections on 27 April 1994...

. The Association is governed by a Representative Council elected by its members. An Executive Committee consisting of elected officials are mandated by the Council to implement its policies and programmes.

Administration is carried out by a small staff located at the national office in Pretoria

Pretoria

Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...

. In July 2009, the LIASA office is moved the UNISA

University of South Africa

The University of South Africa is a distance education university, with headquarters in Pretoria, South Africa. With approximately 300 000 enrolled students, it qualifies as one of the world's mega universities.-History:...

 (University of South Africa) Sunnyside Campus to the old offices of the Pretoria campus of the NLSA

National Library of South Africa

The National Library of South Africa is the agency of the government of South Africa which maintains a national library of all published materials relating to the country.-Creation under the National Library Act:...

 (National Library of South Africa).

History

The Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA) was launched on 10 July 1997. The launch marked the end of the process of unification of all existing library organisations in South Africa. This process was initiated in January 1995 at the Conference on Libraries and Information Services in Developing South Africa (LISDESA), which was an initiative of the two largest existing organisations at the time, the South African Institute for Librarianship and Information Science (SAILIS) and the African Library Association of South Africa (ALASA). It was at LISDESA that the first Steering Committee for the Unification of Library and Information Stakeholders (ULIS) was elected and given the mandate to carry forward the process for a new organisation.

At the ULIS-1 conference, held in July 1996 in Johannesburg

Johannesburg

Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...

, an Interim Executive Committee (IEC) was elected and mandated to draft a constitution for discussion by all the stakeholders. The IEC, supported by the Provincial Support Groups (PSGs) representing all nine provinces in the country, arranged the Constituent Conference (aka ULIS-2) at the University of Pretoria

University of Pretoria

The University of Pretoria is a multi campus public research university located in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa...

 in July 1997.

Approximately four hundred and fifty library and information workers representing all nine provinces in South Africa attended the Constituent Conference. The primary focus was to debate and approve the draft constitution. All delegates were given the opportunity to discuss and propose amendments. On the final morning the final edited draft of the constitution

Constitution

A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...

 was presented and accepted unanimously. The delegates also voted for the name of the new organisation. A Transitional Executive Committee (TEC) was elected to manage the Association, to prepare for the election of the first Representative Council, and to organise the first annual conference, which took place in November 1998. Of significant note, the acronym LIASA, if pronounced "liyasa", in the Nguni languages, means "the dawning".

Peter Johan Lor

Peter Johan Lor

Peter Johan Lor was born in the Netherlands and emigrated to South Africa. He did his studies in Librarianship and Library Science at the University of Stellenbosch and the University of Pretoria in South Africa and at the University of Caen in France. He received a B.Bibl...

 is known for being the very first LIASA member.

The Association celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2007.

LIASA Structure

Representative Council

This Council is made up of the five elected officials, the chairpersons of the LIASA branches and interest groups, as well as the editors of the magazine and journal. Four additional members are elected from this forum to sit on the Executive Committee. Elections are held every two years.

Branches

The Library and Information Association of South Africa has 10 branches, one in every province and two in Gauteng. Each branch has a committee elected from its paid up members. Every branch arranges its own meetings and functions, and compiles its own constitution in accordance with the LIASA constitution.

Interest Groups

LIASA has 10 Interest Groups that serve as platforms for membership discussions that cover various areas of interest and specialisation. Members may choose to belong to two (2) Interest Groups at the time of registration. A national meet of each Interest Groups is convened at the annual LIASA Conference. Several Interest Groups have organised pre-conferences at the annual conference which has exposed members to further training and skills development by experts in the field.

Some Achievements

While still a young organisation in comparison to other library associations (see the List of Library Associations), LIASA won the bid early in its history, to hold the 73rd IFLA General Congress and Council in Durban

Durban

Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...

, South Africa in 2007. IFLA

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions is the leading international association of library organisations. It is the global voice of the library and information profession, and its annual conference provides a venue for librarians to learn from one another...

 is the acronym for the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, of which LIASA is a member organisation.

LIASA united all libraries in the celebration of libraries in the form of South African Library Week

South African Library Week

The national celebration of South Africa Library Week is one of the key milestones of Library and Information Association of South Africa...

(SALW).

LIASA publishes SAJLIS (South African Journal of Library and Information Science), a peer reviewed and accredited journal twice per year.

It publishes also LIASA-in-Touch an association newsletter four times per year.