15 Public Library Infrastructure During COVID-19 in Limpopo Province
Mamotshabo Johanna Boloka · 2023
Information services provision in rural areas of Limpopo Province in South Africa is considered poor even under normal circumstances. The COVID-19 pandemic required libraries to have proper infrastructure to continue providing information services. This chapter examines infrastructure and library and information service provision in Limpopo during the pandemic. It reports on a qualitative study assessing the services available in rural areas of Limpopo Province. The study used the Delphi technique. Questions were sent to experts in public librarianship and the responses transcribed. There are few public libraries in the rural areas of Limpopo Province and the infrastructure in them is poor. The participants in the survey indicated that information service provision was put on hold from March 2020 during the pandemic. It is argued that public libraries require reliable information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure for users to access library and information services (LIS) remotely. The chapter concludes with recommendations for improved ICT infrastructure including use of an effective library management system (LMS), the acquisition of online databases, and the creation of specialised website pages.