Wellington Public Library has appointed the highly qualified Ntobeko Sikhakhane as their new chief librarian – a book man to the core.
Not only does he boast a bachelor’s degree in information science, but he has also been awarded diplomas in business management and financial management at various training institutions. He is currently working on his postgraduate studies in information science through Unisa. He also serves on the executive committee of the KwaZulu-Natal branch of the South African Library Association, the national organization which all librarians in South Africa belong to.
“Section 32 of the country’s 1996 Constitution stipulates my approach to my work. As a librarian I have a constitutional obligation to ensure that the community has full access to information. I believe that information is the key to knowledge and with this, the socio-economic challenges facing our country can be addressed. This includes the elimination of socio-economic disparities, lack of literacy, understanding of disease as well as combatting teenage pregnancies, to name only a few. “
Ntobeko, as a committed Christian, says that he sets out to do his job as librarian with objectivity and to the best of his ability.
“The Bible says in Hosea 4: 6 that a man is destroyed by a lack of knowledge. This once again underlines the need for information and knowledge. We need it like a plant needs water to grow.”
Ntobeka was born in Richards Bay in northern KZN. After graduating he joined the library service and worked in libraries in Richards Bay, Durban and in the Northern Cape before he took the job in Wellington.
He said that it is very important to him to cultivate a culture in children to embrace the information that they can obtain from visits to a library and reading books. He really goes out of his way to create a love for information among children, which is available in the library.
“This is very important because the full potential of the South Africa’s future of lies in our children,” Ntobeko concludes.
