Librarians across Africa are navigating a quiet but urgent shift. The tools, systems, and expectations of their profession are changing, but many are still finding their footing in understanding what that means for their day-to-day work and their communities.
A few months ago in Ntcheu, Malawi, Tayajana Kaponda Zakaria, brought together his colleagues for an honest and energizing conversation about technology and its growing impact on library spaces. The group of seven (7) covered everything from what the future of libraries could look like for librarians to the skills they need and how to acquire these library tech skills.
At the end of the day, they could see, perhaps for the first time collectively, that a significant part of their daily work could be made more efficient through technology. They left with a clearer sense of the path they want to take and an eagerness to go research further. As Tayajana shared, every participant was hungry to learn how to move their practice forward, from traditional ways toward the new approaches Library Aid Africa is advocating for. They are already looking forward to the next conversation.
This is the vision at the heart of Librarians-in-Tech Events: bringing important industry conversations down to the community level, and giving librarians the agency to shape how library technology develops in their own communities.
Tayajana started in Ntcheu, Malawi. Where will the next conversation happen?
