Distance Education Library Services in Swaziland

The realities of finance, staffing, resources and policies and procedures in the University of Swazi-land library system have led to students of the Institute of Distance Education being treated as second-class citizens. INTRODUCTION The Kingdom of Swaziland has a land area of 17,364 square kilometres and a population of just over one million. It is situated in Southern Africa and is surrounded by South Africa and Mozambique. Its only university, the University of Swaziland (UNI-SWA), has three campuses located at Kwaluseni, Luyengo and Mbabane. Historically, the number of applicants to UNISWA programmes exceeded the available resources and facilities. Many Swazis keen to further their education and careers took advantage of, among other things, the proximity of the long established distance education programmes offered by the University of South Africa in Pretoria, South Africa. In response to increased demands on UNI-SWA programmes, the Institute of Distance Education (IDE) was founded and enrolled its first intake of 150 students in 1996. With Kwaluseni campus as the focal point, IDE's core objectives were, inter alia, to:. provide opportunities for lifelong learning. develop individuals to value lifelong education. produce graduates who will be capable of learning and thinking independently, creatively and critically in the ever-changing environment. IDE was mandated to ensure, in collaboration with other UNISWA departments, equivalence and parity of standards between on-campus and off-campus university programmes. 1 By 2001, IDE was the fastest growing and the biggest faculty at UNISWA. 2 Its total enrolment for the academic year 2001/2002 was 1055. The programmes offered were Certificate in French, Diploma in Commerce, Diploma in Law, Bachelor of Arts (Humanities) and Bachelor of Education (Adult Education). IDE conducted its teaching through printed modules, supported by a limited number of face-to-face tutorials which were conducted at regional learning centres established in Manzini and Mbabane, together with a limited number of tutorials conducted at the main Kwaluseni campus. To a large extent, the accomplishment of IDE students' education and learning objectives was dependent on access to quality, reliable and responsive library resources and services. Among the key elements of library services for distance learners identified by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) 3 , the Swazi-land Library Association (SWALA) 4 , Watson 5 , Singh 6 , Cooper 7 , and Niemi 8 are:. User education programmes designed to instil independent and effective information literacy skills while specifically meeting the learner-support needs of the …