THE ROLE OF LESOTHO ACADEMIC LIBRARIES IN THE ATTAINMENT OF MDGS

摘要

The role of tertiary institutions is to produce highly trained manpower for the country. They also provide leadership in different fields of development including community service. In all their endeavours the library plays a pivotal role through its provision of informational resources and related services. For the library to contribute positively to the training of this manpower it needs to have certain things in place without which the product of the institution will be lacking in some aspects. These are the products that go out into the field as agents of development. This paper will specifically look at the challenges faced by libraries of higher institutions of learning in Lesotho and how they may adversely affect the realization of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The focus will be on the libraries of the following tertiary institutions: National University of Lesotho (NUL), Lerotholi Polytechnic (LP), Lesotho College of Education (LCE), Lesotho Agricultural College (LAC) and the National Health Training Centre (NHTC). These are the major institutions of higher learning in the country. The need for addressing the challenges faced by the libraries of these institutions cannot be overemphasized. Lesotho as a member of the United Nations Organization is committed to the attainment of the MDGs as agreed upon by the member states. For the government of Lesotho to succeed in the realization of the MDGs it needs assistance of all its institutions especially higher institutions of learning of which libraries are an integral part. Libraries in these institutions play important roles of not only stocking various information resources to be used by their clients but they also impart crucial information skills into the users. Both roles are important in the attainment of the MDGs. Clearly libraries should play an active role in the realization of the MDGs. By addressing the challenges faced by academic libraries in Lesotho this paper attempts to find the way forward in attaining the MDGs in Lesotho. The paper also highlights some of the programmes currently being undertaken by someacademic libraries in Lesotho that are inline with the efforts towards the attainment of MDGs.