AbstractThis article describes the legal and political forces which affected library provisions to black South Africans in the apartheid era. Discrepancies between white and black service areas are detailed in terms of usage and book stock. The analysis is carried to the level of individual communities, supported by statistics and by reports from librarians. Attention is given to the impact of relevant legislation: the Group Areas Act, Separate Amenities Act, and Bantu Education Act. Although the end of formal apartheid has begun to improve the picture of library service to all segments of the population, several generations may be needed to remedy policies of the past.
On 27 April 1994 the four provinces of South Africa were replaced by nine new ones: Eastern Cape, Eastern Transvaal, Gauteng, KwaZulu–Natal, Northern Cape, Northern Transvaal, North–West, Orange Free State, and Western Cape. The earlier provinces, which had been until 1910 self–governing British colonies, were Cape of Good Hope (the Cape), Natal, Transvaal, and Orange Free State. From 1910 to 1961 those provinces formed the Union of South Africa. The Union became the Republic of South Africa on 31 May 1961. The present study deals with the period 1948–1992, when there were just the four provinces; their capital cities being Cape Town, Pietermaritzburg, Bloemfontein, and Pretoria respectively.
The diversity and origins of the many peoples that make up South Africa’s population are reflected in its ethnic composition. South Africa is home to some 43 million people (1995 estimate) of whom seven million reside in the Transvaal. Seventy–eight percent of the population are black, 12 percent are white, eight percent are coloured (mixed black and white), and two percent are Asian. A multiplicity of languages is a feature of the country and its population. The 11 official languages, in order of number of speakers, are Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, Sepedi, English, Setswana, Sesotho, Xitsonga, Siswati, Tshivenda, and Ndebele. Each province may legally choose any of these as its official language.
As the specific focus of this article is Transvaal and its inhabitants during the Union period, it is pertinent to provide some background information on the province as it was then. Transvaal was the most northerly of the four provinces, and the second largest province, after the Cape. It comprised some 110,000 square miles. It was bounded to the north by Zimbabwe as demarcated by the Limpopo River, to the south by the Vaal River, Natal and the Orange Free State, to the east by Mozambique, and to the west by the Cape Province and Botswana.
Johannesburg was the largest city (it remains the largest in the Republic, with a 1991 urban area population of 1,916,063), but the capital city was Pretoria (now South Africa’s administrative capital). Other important centers were Germiston, Springs, Nigel, Vereeniging, Heidelberg, Roodepoort, Randfontein, Potchefstroom, Pietersburg, Witbank, Krugersdorp, and Klerksdorp. The greatest degree of urbanization occurred in the Vaal Triangle (commonly known as the PWV), bounded by Pretoria, the Witwatersrand, and Vereeniging. Transvaal had both the largest population and the greatest concentration of mineral wealth, and was considered South Africa’s main source of economic power.
Apartheid is a word of Afrikaans derivation which means “apart–ness” or separation. It refers to South Africa’s policy of racial separation enshrined in the laws of that country since the National Party came to power in 1948. It was also known by government supporters as “separate development.” Apartheid was resented and opposed by black people in South Africa, and condemned by many other nations, making the country an international pariah. In 1948, when it first came to power, the National Party advocated complete apartheid between white and black people in social, residential, industrial and political fields. Ten years later, under Prime Minister H.F. Verwoerd, classical apartheid was given a more definite form and direction. Verwoerd believed that Africans should be divided into different ethnic communities, each of which should be regarded as a “national unit.” This approach gave rise to the “Homelands” policy. “Coloureds” and “Indians,” he argued, should manage their own affairs as much as possible but be subordinate to the white parliament [25].
It is an accepted fact that, for over 40 years of white National Party rule, the majority of South Africans struggled under the constraints of institutionalized racial legislation which dominated all facets of their lives. Literacy, education, and library facilities were affected. It is the intention of this article to illustrate the ramifications of South Africa’s racial policy on the provision of its library service with its resultant fracture of the black and white sectors of the population. This will entail a brief examination of the germane legal framework, a comparison of resources to the different racial groups and the results of cases studies conducted in the Transvaal.
Cultural segregation long preceded the formal apartheid principles espoused by Afrikaner nationalism and formed part of the domination techniques practised by white rule. The racial and cultural differences between the rulers and the ruled became equated with prevailing stereotypes “which correlated dark skin colour with inherent cultural differences and inferiority.” [23] Cultural segregation developed too, in response to the perceived threat posed by a growing class of black potential political and economic competitors. With the advent of National Party rule in 1948, the statutory entrenchment of racially unjust laws was gradually implemented. These laws have been subject to extensive critical examination. Relevant to the subject under review are the Group Areas Act, No. 41 (1950), which controlled the racial zoning of land and premises; the Bantu Education Act, No. 47 (1953), which transferred the control of Bantu education from provincial to central control; and the Reservation of Separate Amenities Act, No. 49 (1953), which regulated amenities for blacks in the common area. These acts reinforced cultural separation and contributed towards the deep difference in literacy levels.
Integral both to the policy of segregation and to its successor, apartheid, was the concept of residential segregation. Measures in support of this principle finally culminated in the enactment by the National Party of the immensely complicated Group Areas Act (1950). Its complexity led to its periodic amendment but in essence, the act enshrined state intervention in property rights and determined that South Africans could reside and trade only in designated areas unless exemption was obtained. The significance of the act has been far–reaching and the cause of hardship and racial resentment. Political aspects aside, the social and cultural consequences have fallen with heaviest burden on blacks. As noted by Melville Festenstein and Claire Pickard–Cambridge, “Separate but equal access to property cannot be achieved within the framework of the act because the whites already have all the best grounds and facilities. Segregation also cut black groups off from the facilities they had enjoyed in the city centres.” [2a]
The social fragmentation experienced by those involved in relocation was exacerbated by poor housing, limited infrastructural facilities, and transport difficulties inherent in living so far from city centres. These racially induced disadvantages were further reinforced by the implementation of the Separate Amenities Act, “which legalised the provision of separate buildings, services, and conveniences for people of different racial groups and stipulated that such a provision, whether past or future, could not be ruled invalid on the grounds that provision had not been made for all races, or that the separate facilities provided for the various groups were not substantially equal.” [5]
Apartheid permeated to the provincial level by the passing of local ordinances which established exclusivity of access to a particular race wishing to use amenities in the jurisdiction. Right of admission to cultural institutions had long been subject to state control. The State–Aided Institutions Act (1931) gave to the Minister of Education, Arts and Science (later restyled the Minister of National Education), jurisdiction over entry and restrictions to any state–aided institution such as an art gallery, museum, public garden, zoo, or library. Authority was later delegated to the boards of the various institutions concerned in Act No. 10 (1960), which stated that “a board may, subject to the approval of the Minister, determine what hours and under what conditions and restrictions the public or any group of persons, or persons belonging to a particular race or class, may visit an institution or portion thereof, and what admission charges shall be payable.” Muriel Horrell states that, in general, “In he early 1950’s, provincial and/or local authorities made their own decisions m the use of civic halls and provincial or municipal libraries by members of various racial groups.” [4] It should be noted that while the Separate Amenities Act was initially strictly enforced, by 1974 several local authorities in the Cape, Natal and the Transvaal had dispensed with certain racial restrictions pertaining to libraries.
The centrality of education to the social engineering objectives of the National Party was recognized as early as 1948, “Native education should be based on the principles of trusteeship, non–equality, and segregation; its aims should be to inculcate the white man’s way of life, especially that of the Boer nation, which is the senior trustee.” [11] Education became inextricably intertwined in the liberation struggle by South Africa’s oppressed races, and by 1976 it had become the catalyst for one of the most sustained periods of violent apposition to apartheid rule. The orchestrated approach to the underdevelopment of black education was underscored by several key acts, of which the Bantu Education Act is probably the best known. It was revised in 1954, 1956, 1959, and 1961 and reinforced by the Bantu Special Education Act, No. 24 (1964), Coloured Persons Education Act, No. 47 (1963), and Indian Education Act, No. 61 (1965). The combined effect of this legislation was to centralize all forms of education under the jurisdiction of the state, instead of under the provincial administrations as before. As from 1 January 1954, the control of Bantu education was transferred to the central government, becoming the responsibility of the then Department of Native Affairs. A division of Bantu education was created within this Department. On 20 October 1958 the Division became the separate Department of Education [4].
Discrimination in the provision of schooling, however, can be traced back to the first missionary schools opened in 1658. In these schools, education was provided on two distinct levels. On the one hand, children of the colonists were being trained to be masters whilst on the other education for blacks was directed at equipping them to serve. Per capita expenditure figures on education reveal the evident degree of discrepancy, as revealed by the work of Unterhalter, et al. The average per capita annual expenditure on education in 1988 was R3,982.82 per white child, R1,980.41 per Indian, R1,325.64 per Coloured, and R582.93 per African child (3.3 Rand = 1US$) [23]. As Muriel Horrell pointed out, “[t]he comparatively low expenditure on Africans has meant that their schools have been overcrowded and ill–equipped, with very high pupil–teacher ratios, and often, with poorly qualified or unqualified teachers.” [4] The quality of education for the majority of the South Africans was thus determined both by the ideology of the ruling white regime in their attempt to educate the masses only to the level on which their labour requirements were met, and the “restructuring of the content of education in order to inculcate the values of Christian National Education, thus socializing Africans to accept their subordination within the apartheid system.” [5]
The Growth of Black Libraries in the Transvaal
Historical Background
Speaking in Umlazi 1990, at the launch of the Library and Information Workers Organisation (LIWO), Noki Pakade of the Durban Resource Centre made the plea that library authorities should commit themselves to non–racialism and ensure that the language and content of libraries are accessible to all races and classes of the community. She stressed the need for the democratization of libraries, noting the valuable input that could be made by universities, schools and factory libraries, students and workers through student representative councils and union structures by serving on library committees. She went on to say “the cornerstone of apartheid which embodies racism, class division and sexism determines how libraries should function, their location and who they serve, while on the other hand there are democratic people’s structures which have ideals about people’s education, people’s libraries and overall democratic society.” [12] Pakade’s speech, written some 60 years after the establishment of both the Natal and Transvaal (Carnegie) non–European libraries service, embodies the problems inherent in providing a library service to black South Africans. In order to understand the emerging dichotomy in the services enjoyed by the different population groups, it is necessary to analyze those facilities available to blacks, particularly in the Transvaal. In this respect, Karlton Johnson’s paper prepared for the Transvaal Branch of the South African Library Association must be considered as a pioneer contribution in its field. Assessing the position some 10 years after the beginning of the movement to provide adequate services for Africans, Johnson concludes that viewed as a whole, “it bears the mark of being haphazard and rather make–shift.” [6] Problems noted by Johnson included lack of experience, lack of knowledge pertaining to the needs of Africans, funding being too thinly spread, inappropriate book selection and too few books in the vernacular, and not enough properly trained African librarians. Added to these was the insufficient recognition by the local authorities of the need to provide adequate library facilities (there was scant regard even for the provision of basic social amenities such as housing and slum clearance). This lack of recognition was shared also by the missions and the Joint Councils of Europeans and Africans, whose chief concerns were with the civic and social welfare of black South Africans.
Rural and Municipal Services
In the early 1930s and 1940s, the primary concern of the provincial administrations and municipalities lay with the provision of free library services for whites. As a result, the development of libraries to other communities was painfully slow, partly also because it lacked a definite state policy. It was left to a few individuals to cater for the reading needs of the greater bulk of the South African population, while the bodies which should have borne this responsibility either gave a small donation or left things to develop their own way [9]. The establishment of the (Carnegie) Non–European Library Service was a significant development in the cultural wilderness in which the blacks found themselves. The Carnegie Committee intended that a Black librarian should be appointed at each library centre. However, the committee had to depend upon the services of voluntary librarians at nearly every centre ([9], p. 34). Marguerite Peters, author of a major study of the Carnegie project, provides an interesting insight into the role of these workers, and notes that many of them were actively engaged in promoting the habit of reading both for pleasure and for studying among their members ([13], pp. 54–57).
In 1937 the first person to occupy the post of organizer was selected from 61 applicants, some of whom were university graduates. He was Herbert Isaac Ernest Dhlomo, the first major black playwright in South Africa, as well as a prolific poet. Influential in black journalism, Dhlomo played an important role in the foundation of the African National Congress Youth League. His library appointment was the first of its kind in South Africa. Dhlomo’s duties were varied, ranging from the organization of reading centres and ensuring their supply of books, to lecturing on books and advising on reading material. As these duties entailed mobility, it was decided to buy a bicycle and later a small car for the organizer who would repay the library monthly. The Sixth Report of the Carnegie Non–European Library Service (1942) makes mention of 191 visits paid to centres during the year under review. Dhlomo’s most interesting library production was a mimeographed bulletin entitled The Reader’s Companion. Just four issues appeared, in May, July, September, and December 1938. Each consisted of four or five pages and contained hints for librarians, news from centres, encouragement of reading habits, and lists of books to read — these lists reflecting Dhlomo’s own reading. In a series of sketches aimed at introducing a variety of African authors Dhlomo published some of the earliest literary criticism by an African. Details about Herbert Dhlomo are given in a study by R. Alain Everts [2].
In tracing the early development of libraries for blacks established by various Transvaal municipalities, Karlton Johnson has provided a comprehensive survey detailing developments in Benoni, Brakpan, Germiston, Springs, Roodepoort, and Vereeniging [6]. R.F. Kennedy, as the Johannesburg Public Library’s (JPL) sub–librarian from 1921 and city librarian from 1936 to 1960, was closely concerned with the establishment of facilities for blacks as part of his programme “Books to the People” [19]. He has given a detailed account of the development of black libraries established by the Johannesburg Municipality [8]. The Non–European Library Service and the Winifred Holtby Library were important landmarks during this period [7].
The Establishment of Provincial Libraries for Blacks
The presupposition was made by the Committee of the Non–European Library Service that, once the Transvaal Provincial Library Service was fully operational it would take over the functions of the Non–European Library Service. An approach was made in this respect to the Provincial Service and the proposal was considered. There was resistance from the Department of Native Affairs as control over black education had been transferred in 1954 from the provincial authorities to the central government. The Department of Native Affairs, which changed its name in 1958 to the Department of Bantu Education, was of the opinion that the supply of a school and lending library service would fall under its aegis. This vexing question was also followed up by the South African Library Association in 1956, requesting that the issue be resolved. An investigative subcommittee was appointed which verified that the Department of Native Affairs bore responsibility for the African libraries, while the provinces retained responsibility for coloured and Indian services. That outcome had grave consequences for libraries serving blacks as the provinces had to withdraw financial support [10], and a breakdown in services ensued. The Transvaal Provincial Administration, however, continued to support the work of the Non–European Library Service until 1958, when they established their own service to coloureds and Indians [13].
In the interim, the South African Library Association played an important role in the promotion of library services to blacks. They also promoted closer co–operation among South African libraries. Following a resolution from the 1959 Potchefstroom Conference, a grant was obtained from the National Council of Social Research to investigate the status of South African librarianship and thereafter to report to a national conference. The year 1962 proved to be another turning point in the history of South African librarianship, as the conference which ultimately met in Johannesburg in June was a catalyst in pushing library development a step further. Recommendations highlighted the need for the supply of study material for blacks and for more open access libraries with reference facilities for black students and workers [9].
November 1962 witnessed the approval by the Transvaal Provincial Administration of an extension of existing services to Africans. This was at the instigation of the Transvaal Provincial Library Advisory Board under the chairmanship of S.H. Pellissier. The decision was in turn communicated to the Administrators’ Conference. Discussion was structured to facilitate both a policy common to all four provinces and agreement on financial responsibility and control of services among the provinces, central government, and local authorities [15]. The Conference thereafter requested the Minister of the Interior to appoint an interdepartmental committee briefed to investigate the whole question of services to blacks. In the interim, the provinces were allowed to proceed with the provision of library services to blacks [9].
The de Vaal Committee of Inquiry
J.B. de Vaal, then chief planning officer of the Department of Education, was appointed chairman of the Interdepartmental Committee of Investigation into Library Services for Non–Whites upon its establishment in 1963 [20]. The findings of this Committee, which comprised representatives of the Departments of Bantu Education, Bantu Administration and Development, Coloured Affairs, and Indian Affairs, as well as from the provincial administrations, larger municipalities and the South African Library Association, were made public in 1965. The report proved to be pivotal in the entrenchment of library services to black South Africans. The provinces were now to be regarded as the official bodies responsible for the provision of such services to all population groups in conjunction with the local authorities. It was only in 1970, however, that these recommendations became officially binding.
Developments in the Transvaal
Section 22 of the Transvaal Provincial Ordinance, No. 16 (1951) states that “any facilities provided under the service for non–Europeans shall be separate from those provided for Europeans.” This denotes tacit acceptance of such a future service which took, in the case of blacks, a further 13 years to materialize. The former director of library services in the Transvaal, Hendrik Robinson, concedes that “the initial progress made with library services to the non–white groups of the population could not compare with that in the service to the whites.” [15] He goes on to make the interesting point that, “the first amount voted by the Transvaal Provincial Council for the financial year 1964/65 for the introduction of library services to the Bantu was exactly the same as for the white service in the first year of its existence 20 years earlier, viz., R25,000.” [15]
Preliminary Steps
Preparatory to the implementation of a library service to blacks, the Transvaal Provincial Library Service, certain initial steps were taken. These included a survey of literacy levels and existing library facilities. Talks were held with the Departments of Bantu Education and Bantu Administration and Development concerning the role of local authorities, as well as with the South African Library Association on the establishment of a separate library association for blacks, as it was generally interpreted that “mixed” professional associations were discouraged. Provision was made for a nucleus stock by the transferral of approximately vernacular 8,000 books into a separate holding. A relevant classification system was devised; and the existing Bantu Service of the North was reorganized ([9]; 22).
The 1963 report on library services issued by the Transvaal Provincial Library Advisory Board contains the detailed principles upon which the service to blacks was to be founded. They endorse the retention of the status quo pertaining to the white service, namely that the responsibility of this service should rest with the local authority with the help and support of the provincial administration. This was subject to certain conditions, for example that in the initial stage a rudimentary public library service should be established; that the local authorities accept the basic responsibility for the establishment of the proposed service; that affiliation of the local black library will be subject to conditions being fulfilled by local authorities (such as the making available of suitable accommodation, for book and periodical resources, free of charge, to the satisfaction of the director, library services). Other clauses related to the contributions of the local authorities; the strict adherence to Section 22 of Ordinance No. 16 (1951); the contribution of the Transvaal Provincial Library Service in respect to the provision of books, books supplied on special request, professional help and guidance, development of service programmes, training of library workers, and the like. The development programme, undertaken on an experimental basis until October 1964, took a further year to implement and made provision for not more than 10 existing libraries and 12 library depots in rural areas to be incorporated, as well as the establishment, in conjunction with the Bantu Settlement Board, of a library service for Meadowlands.
Development of the Service
An analysis of the Transvaal Provincial Library Service advisory board annual reports [22] reveals the progress made by the Bantu Service, as it was then called. By the end of 1965, 32 library centres were being served. The service was reorganized on an ethnic basis during 1966 because of the practical problems encountered. As further evidence for the necessity of extending the library service to blacks, membership during 1967 increased from 28,961 to 49,069. Inadequate library accommodation provided by local authorities had clearly manifested itself by 1968, the three northern regional libraries in order to place them on a sound administrative footing.
After approval had been obtained from the Minister of National Education for its establishment on 16 October 1972, the library service for blacks was reorganized. All service points within white areas were co–ordinated so as to place them under the control of one administrative office [22]. By 1978 the library service could be described as making slow but steady progress, with 50 public libraries and 35 library depots. Nelson Shongwe [18] provides a detailed account of the decentralization which took place from 1984 onwards, while in 1991 all the public libraries and library depots were rezoned to fall within the geographical boundaries of the community development regions of the Transvaal; they now serve all races irrespective of colour.
Strategic Planning
The years 1988 and 1989 witnessed an important change in the objectives of the Transvaal Public Library Service. During July 1988, the director of the service asserted that: “the aim of the Transvaal Provincial Library is to make reading and other library material available to users in the Transvaal. By virtue of the Service, a contribution is made to the ideal of cultural enrichment.” [3] Within 11 months, Lorinda Roets, then chief librarian of the PWV Regional Office noted a new dimension: “The all encompassing service delivered by the Public Library Service should play a pro–active role in the socio–economic development of developing communities.” [16] Roets provides an insight into the philosophy accepted by the service and outlines methods by which their goal of parity within the next 20 years could be attempted. Her seminal article forms the basis of the following information concerning the public library as a role player in community development. The service decided to accept as their basic premise, Noel Shillinglaw’s 1985 statement: “It can be confidently forecast that priority will be given to a wide range of developmental issues in the Republic of South Africa over the next twenty years ... It is now appropriate to reactivate in the developing areas of South Africa, the early enthusiasm of public library pioneers for mass education.” [17]
Brigitta Hansen identifies an indicator of future policy:
| Public libraries may play a role in social development although they had not been used for the purpose so far. By identifying potential problems and solutions to problems and by setting priorities in regard to health, welfare, education, training, recreation and culture, libraries can become an ideal vehicle to bring together people and information on these subjects. In this way the library can improve the quality of people’s minds and abilities, which in turn will help to improve their circumstances. However, success in this regard depends not on which institution does the work, but on the quality of the people who do it [3]. |
The public library was therefore identified as a body with an infrastructure which could make a contribution to the development of communities by supporting formal training, co–operation with the agents of non–formal training, the distribution of resources, and community information. To be successful in the implementation of these efforts, it would be necessary for the public library to concentrate on four roles, and also to persuade policy makers of their necessity. Libraries could become agents for development, through the expediency of literacy courses for example; could fulfil the role of media facilitators by distributing background material for educational purposes; become devel-opment channels by providing facilities to development agencies; and become sources of community information. Confronted with this background, the PWV Regional Office evolved in 1988 a plan for the phasing in of the public library as a role player in the development of the population. The strategy was called Ontwikkeling–met–die–Oog–op–Ontwikkelingstrategie [Development–with–an–Eye–on–Development Strategy], the reason for this being that there should first be domestic development from which development of the population could grow. The strategy has three main components: human resources, physical infrastructure, and systems and service. Human resources entails the establishment of training circles, launching of project competitions, provision of lectures on request, and the motivation of officials for further tertiary training. The physical resources component of the strategy would foster the improvement and construction of library buildings, and the establishment of new service points. Systems and service would strive to generate better upward communication, and improve book stock by appropriate purchase, weeding, cleaning and repair. The entire strategy is subject to an annual review and a bi–monthly evaluation in which factors such as unrest and lack of cooperation play a significant role in implementation [21].
Data in the annual reports of the Transvaal Provincial Library Services offer evidence of growth in library membership, library use, and bookstock. These data are summarized in tables that follow. Statistics that distinguish between black and white usage are not available for later years.
| Table 1: Transvaal White Library Usage. | ||||
| Source: Transvaal Provincial Library Services (TPLS) Annual Reports. | ||||
| Year | 1952 | 1962 | 1972 | 1982 |
| Membership | 91,677 | 187,730 | 310,049 | 552,941 |
| Circulation | 2,352,930 | 5,297,426 | 8,800,821 | 12,047,974 |
| Bookstock | 476,875 | 1,514,049 | 3,120,239 | 4,406,101 |
| Table 2: Black Library Service. | |||
| Source: Transvaal Provincial Library Services (TPLS) Annual Reports. | |||
| Year | 1962 | 1972 | 1982 |
| Membership | 30,641 | 45,453 | |
| Circulation | 412,266 | 378,500 | |
| Bookstock | 6,000+ | 149,804 | |
| Table 3: Coloureds and Indians. | |||
| Source: Transvaal Provincial Library Services (TPLS) Annual Reports. | |||
| Note: *Total for Africans, Coloureds and Indians: 167,934. | |||
| Year | 1962 | 1972 | 1982 |
| Membership | 2,122 | 1,101 | 25,210 |
| Circulation | 26,050 | 323,049 | |
| Bookstock | 13,424 | * | |
Resources and Services in the Transvaal: Some Case Studies
Any attempt to quantify the effect of apartheid on resources and services must, perforce, be supported by adequate figures and documentation. Questionnaires were accordingly sent to 100 randomly selected libraries throughout the Transvaal. Results were disappointing as only 12 replies were received and information given was cursory. It was decided in 1993, to simplify the questionnaire and to focus on the narrative rather that the statistical. Again results were disappointing. For these reasons, it was decided to concentrate on a sampling of 12 libraries in order to build up a corpus of information and to extrapolate, if possible, data and trends which would give indicators as to their status. Six black towns and their corresponding white counterparts were selected mainly on the basis of response, in order to determine how facilities differed for people residing in the same area, but divided by the Group Areas Act. Space limitation precludes the inclusion of full details. All details are available in the writer’s thesis [7]. Responses from the librarians were deliberately left unedited, thus suggesting the different education levels of the librarians concerned. Places examined were: Boipatong and Vanderbijlpark, Kathlehong and Alberton, Mhluzi and Middelburg, Sebokeng and Vereeniging, Mamelodi and Verwoerdburg, and Boksburg and Vosloorus. These places appear in Table 4, illustrating various aspects of library usage, bookstock, and the like.
It is evident that the libraries used by whites, having developed over a longer period with larger budgets are those which in statistical terms reveal impressive results, for example Vanderbijlpark and Middelburg libraries have, by far, the largest membership while Verwoerdburg, Alberton, Boksburg, and Vereeniging are also substantial. In vivid contrast, the black libraries produce barely meaningful membership figures. These include Boipatong, Mhluzi, Mamelodi, Sebokeng, Vosloorus, and Kathlehong. These numbers are relative to the total population figures for the municipalities under review. The findings are also similar in respect of the following characteristics in the user patterns demonstrated: circulation, bookstock, and books read. These statistics are yet again confirmed by the overall data for the total period covering the years 1952 to 1992 (see Table 1). In the first decade of this period, 1952 to 1962 provincial service to the black population was non–existent. For the two decades for 1962 to 1982 membership statistics for the white libraries soared, while those for the blacks were negligible. By 1992, this situation was difficult to assess as racial discrimination had been abolished and separate statistics for the specific races were no longer kept.
Library Buildings
In this category there is once again a stark contrast between black and white in the provision of library buildings. Library buildings for whites provided by the relevant local authorities, were built, equipped, and furnished to varying degrees of sufficiency. This is more than can be said for black libraries between 1952 and 1992. Of the six libraries under review, only one was classified by the province as a standard library, i.e., Vosloorus. The size of the remaining five black libraries left much to be desired with corresponding inadequacies in respect of community library activities.
Bookstock
As demonstrated in Table 4, the six black libraries were insufficiently catered for in statistical terms. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the position changed dramatically with respect to the type of books provided by the province. The range of material was greatly extended and wider book selection facilities were made available to the librarians concerned. The dearth of vernacular books continues to remain a disturbing weakness, but this is a publishing deficiency for which the blame cannot be laid at the door of either the province or the affected librarians.
| Table 4: Data from Sample of Public Libraries. | ||||||||
| Source: Official South African Municipal Yearbook. | ||||||||
| Population | Membership | Bookstock | Circulation | Membership/ Population % | Per Capita Books Read % | Per Capita Population Books Read % | Bookstock Circulated % | |
| Alberton | 99,300 | 24,987 | 112,452 | 462,011 | 25.20 | 18.50 | 4.700 | 4.10 |
| Boipatong | 35,000 | 1,783 | 6,165 | 5,998 | 5.10 | 3.40 | .170 | .98 |
| Boksburg | 139,650 | 24,300 | 123,306 | 506,038 | 17.40 | 20.80 | 3.600 | 4.10 |
| Kathlehong | 545,000 | 1,000 | 7,018 | 2,142 | .18 | 2.10 | .004 | .31 |
| Mamelodi | 519,000 | 3,556 | 18,969 | 19,621 | .69 | 5.50 | .040 | 1.03 |
| Mhluzi | 80,000 | 581 | 4,429 | 1,585 | .73 | 2.70 | .020 | .36 |
| Middleburg | 39,510 | 15,444 | 50,712 | 151,694 | 39.00 | 9.80 | .400 | 3.00 |
| Sebokeng | 277,000 | 1,662 | 12,902 | 9,172 | .60 | 5.50 | .030 | .71 |
| Vanderbijilpark | 73,280 | 34,844 | 108,024 | 615,704 | 47.50 | 17.70 | 8.400 | 5.70 |
| Vereeniging | 172,600 | 13,537 | 93,418 | 409,287 | 7.84 | 30.20 | 2.400 | 4.40 |
| Verwoerdburg | 81,300 | 19,401 | 117,923 | 569,855 | 23.86 | 29.49 | 7.010 | 4.80 |
| Vosloorus | 180,000 | 736 | 11,800 | 9,307 | .41 | 12.60 | .052 | .79 |
Satifaction of Needs
Of the responses from the black libraries, the most revealing came from the Boipatong Public Library where the librarian reported in negative terms on the following aspects:
This negative report is confirmed to a larger or lesser extent by some of the other black libraries included in the survey:
The comments of the white librarians who responded were generally favourable.
Policies Applied to Library Services
With reference to the black libraries:
An examination of the white libraries produces a favourable picture of the policies applied by the Transvaal Provincial Library which, in one case, contrasts markedly with the attitude of the local authority:
Three of the white libraries refrained from giving comments on policies (Boksburg, Vanderbijlpark, and Alberton). This could be due to total satisfaction with either or both the province or local authority, or extreme dissatisfaction with possible fear of retribution. This non–response could also be viewed as being of historical importance only in what was then the apartheid era and with no significance for the future.
The practical effects of the three seminal legislative acts in determining the development of black libraries — i.e., the Group Areas Act, Separate Amenities Act, and Bantu Education Act — have been evidenced by the findings of the sample study. The Group Areas Act seriously affected residential and property rights. Until the formal abolition of the Act in 1991, blacks could reside only in specifically designated areas unless exemption was obtained. Differences in living conditions, facilities, and amenities clearly emerge and the concomitant burden on the black sectors of the population is revealed. The Separate Amenities Act, which forced different racial groups to utilize separate facilities and services and which controlled the right of admission to cultural institutions, reinforced the Group Areas Act. The description of black library buildings and equipment utilised in the sample study reveals conditions disproportionate to requirements. These are nationwide problems that will require a massive infusion of funding and strategic planning to rectify. The dearth in the provision of library services to the black population, as demonstrated in the tables above, has played a major role in depriving that sector of their right to information whether on an educational or recreational level. It will probably require several generations to remedy such policies of the past and to provide libraries their rightful role in South African society.
This paper is based on the author’s 1994 Ph.D. dissertation. See Jacqueline Audrey Kalley, “The Effect of Apartheid on the Provision of Public, Provincial and Community Library Services in South Africa with Particular Reference to the Transvaal,” Ph.D. dissertation, Pietermaritzburg University of Natal, 1994.
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Jacqueline A. Kalley recently took her Ph.D. at the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg. She has been Librarian of Jan Smuts House since 1974. Dr. Kalley has compiled numerous bibliographies on South Africa and the region. She is co–editor of Southern Africa Update.
© 1996 Jacqueline A. Kalley.
Citation
Kalley, Jacqueline A. “Libraries and Apartheid, with Particular Reference in the Transvaal, 1948–1992,” Third World Libraries, Volume 6, Number 2 (Spring 1996).