On Thursday morning (Thanksgiving!) I visited the University of Zambia (Unza) Library. Unfortunately, due to semester break, the only students on campus were the distance learners and many of the library staff were away as well. I did have the chance to speak with one of the librarians and learned additional information from the internet and discussions with others.
The Unza Library has more than 170,000 volumes and is a circulating library. Browsing the stacks I saw some pleasant surprises. Due to lack of funds most of the collection was older books but I did find, sprinkled throughout, books with publication dates of 2000 or later. I am guessing they have received recent donations, perhaps from BAI. I also saw the phenomenon of multiple copies, 5-10 copies of the same publication donated en mass by publishers. In a report written by the University Librarian (2000?), he wrote that most of the collection was old due to lack of budget and that no books or periodicals had been purchased for eight years. Amazing, especially when one considers that this library is the designated National Reference Library of Zambia.
The catalog is fully automated, converted in 1995. A computer lab operates in the lower floors but sadly only 4 of the 10 computers are functioning. In addition to the computer lab, computers for internet access and the online catalog are available near the circulation desk, kept securely behind the gates shown in the photos.
There were many students studying for exams within the Library, at least 200. The only staff I met were security (5 persons), one circulation staff member, one additional staff member in Special Collections, and a cataloger, Mr. NKatya Clikwekwe. I have always have the best of luck meeting fellow catalogers. We had a good time talking LC, member copy, and CIP. He had a stack of new publications he was cataloging for the collection, shown in photo. The most up to date publications are from international agencies such as the United Nations, IMF, etc.
I love the design of the Library, with its interior ramps leading to different areas of the collection. The architecture of Unza and the Library are quite like a maze. MC Escher must surely have been the architect. I followed paths that lead to dead ends, walked across bridges of concrete built over slopes in the sidewalk, and up winding ramps. And huge masses of concrete. Someone told me that the British built many such structure as they departed in the 1960s. Not British design and definitely not African. Perhaps "Early Post-Colonial" is the best description.
On Thursday morning (Thanksgiving!) I visited the University of Zambia (Unza) Library. Unfortunately, due to semester break, the only students on campus were the distance learners and many of the library staff were away as well. I did have the chance to speak with one of the librarians and learned additional information from the internet and discussions with others.
The Unza Library has more than 170,000 volumes and is a circulating library. Browsing the stacks I saw some pleasant surprises. Due to lack of funds most of the collection was older books but I did find, sprinkled throughout, books with publication dates of 2000 or later. I am guessing they have received recent donations, perhaps from BAI. I also saw the phenomenon of multiple copies, 5-10 copies of the same publication donated en mass by publishers. In a report written by the University Librarian (2000?), he wrote that most of the collection was old due to lack of budget and that no books or periodicals had been purchased for eight years. Amazing, especially when one considers that this library is the designated National Reference Library of Zambia.
The catalog is fully automated, converted in 1995. A computer lab operates in the lower floors but sadly only 4 of the 10 computers are functioning. In addition to the computer lab, computers for internet access and the online catalog are available near the circulation desk, kept securely behind the gates shown in the photos.
There were many students studying for exams within the Library, at least 200. The only staff I met were security (5 persons), one circulation staff member, one additional staff member in Special Collections, and a cataloger, Mr. NKatya Clikwekwe. I have always have the best of luck meeting fellow catalogers. We had a good time talking LC, member copy, and CIP. He had a stack of new publications he was cataloging for the collection, shown in photo. The most up to date publications are from international agencies such as the United Nations, IMF, etc.
I love the design of the Library, with its interior ramps leading to different areas of the collection. The architecture of Unza and the Library are quite like a maze. MC Escher must surely have been the architect. I followed paths that lead to dead ends, walked across bridges of concrete built over slopes in the sidewalk, and up winding ramps. And huge masses of concrete. Someone told me that the British built many such structure as they departed in the 1960s. Not British design and definitely not African. Perhaps "Early Post-Colonial" is the best description.
The Library was my "structural engineering" baptism !
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