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The scope of the report will cover activities that were done
during the 2005 and 2006 financial year.
These were: Book Selection, Careers,
School Debates, Library activities,
Saturday Classes, Educational Video’s,
Poetry sessions, Membership and
Acquisitions.
Membership
We currently require members to produce two I.D. Photos for
registration and membership lasts a
calendar year. We now boast almost 320
members. Members are allowed to loan
books. Other users need to read the books
at the library.
Acquisitions
We bought books from Exclusive books to the value of R1000.00
during their Sidewalk Sale.
Book Selection
In 2005 the library received an allocation of R25 000.00 from
the Provincial Library Services to spend
on books and the venues for the book
selection were Hyde Park (where we chose
Leadership and Management C.D.s and DVDs),
Wynberg (for general requested book
selection) and Alberton (for study guides
and tutorials).
Adult Literacy
Our adult literacy classes have been put on hold as we have
not been able to find a suitable
replacement for our teacher who has been
diagnosed with Cancer.
Volunteers
The library has two volunteers, Joseph assisted in the
Internet Café, helping people open e-mail
addresses and general assistance with
information searches. Melitta helped with
operational duties around the library.
Both Joseph and Melitta managed to obtain
full time jobs during the latter part of
the year.
Book Displays
We do three book displays per year during the celebration of
World Book Day, Library Week and Readathon.
SCHOOL PROJECTS
Careers
2005 we invited Companies, Institutions and Organisations to
our exhibition. We extended our invitation
to schools (Grade 10, 11 and 12) as well
as previous Matriculants. Among the
invited institutions were the Institute of
Administration & Commerce who offered
bursaries, a representative from ABSA bank
gave a talk on Student Loans, Institutions
of higher learning talked about the
courses offered and their requirements,
Central
Johannesburg College made an exhibition on
Electronics, Hair dressing, Motor
Mechanics. UNISA, Technikon SA, Technikon
Witwatersrand also gave learners
information about their different
institutions. We had close to 550 people
attending.
Debates and Essay Writing
The league for 2005 ran very smoothly. We now have to follow
new rules set by the Education Department.
One of the rules is that debates will
only take place after school.
Saturday Classes
The library is still running its Saturday classes. Thabo
Chaoane teaches Biology while Nhlanhla
Nkosi teaches History. In March we will be
introducing Accounting classes, the tutor
is an honours graduate student. We are
still trying to outsource teachers
especially Maths and Science teachers.
Thabo Chaoane was recently given an award by the Library for
his outstanding services to the community
for the past ten years. Alexsan gave him
a recognition Plaque and a Gift Voucher
for CNA.
Educational Videos
Educational videos are still very popular with high school
and adult education pupils. We cater for
individuals and groups of about 25 to 30
people.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROJECTS
Poetry Sessions
This activity is run on Sundays at the library. The project
was initiated in 2003 and now consists of
about 70 individuals and different groups.
Women’s Cafe
The project is aimed at young women in the community who meet
every Thursday to discuss issues that
affect their everyday lives. The project
has 10 members.
“Spirit of Women” Brunch
The library approached several prominent business members of
the community to sponsor a Woman’s Day
Event where women of the community were
honoured. We purchased gifts (soaps and
candles) from the Alexandra Development
Centre, which were given to the women as
tokens of our appreciation. We also
identified three women who received Top
Awards. The event was highlighted by
motivational talks by several community
leaders including Iris Legodi (Life Line),
Yameshree Govender (Imagination Lab) and a
journalist from Alex Voice. The live
entertainment was provided by S’gub Kwela
and poetry by Nomkhubulwane.
Internet Café
The internet café has become very popular over the past three
years. The services are still free. It
is operational throughout the day and we
have around 15 to 20 people using the
facility daily.
Additional Computers
We have
two additional computers that we offer to
members of the community to use for typing
and speed practice. We have between 5 and
10 people using this facility daily.
Traditional Activities for the Library
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The children’s library operates from
Mondays to Thursdays during the week for
story telling, story reading, dictation
and showing of animated video cassettes
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Winter School where tutors are organized
by the library to help students in
Mathematics, Biology and English
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Drawing, coloring and crafts
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Story telling
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Readathon (September)
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World Book Day (23 April)
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Watching Animated Videos
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Treasure Hunts/Kiddies Quiz Competition
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Discussions and Debates
On A Final Note
I (Maryam Abrahams) would like to formally
announce my resignation from Alexsan
Community Library to take up a new
position. I am looking forward to the
professional challenge being offered to
me
In closing, I would like to express my
sincere appreciation to the management, as
well as to my many friends and colleagues
at Alexsan. I have truly enjoyed my years
working with all of you and am grateful
for the many learning and growth
opportunities I was given over the years.
I wish all of you at Alexsan Resource
Centre continued success.
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