A Postcolonial Study of Three Public Libraries in Mali

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A Postcolonial Study of Three Public Libraries in Mali lMAGISTERUPPSATS I BIBLIOTEKS- OCH INFORMATIONSVETENSKAP VID INSTITUTIONEN BIBLIOTEKS- OCH INFORMATIONSVETENSKAP/BIBLIOTEKSHÖGSKOLAN 2007:145 ISSN 1654-0247 A Postcolonial Study of Three Public Libraries in Mali JENNY WIIK Svensk titel: En postkolonial studie av tre folkbibliotek i Mali Engelsk titel: A Postcolonial Study of Three Public Libraries in Mali Författare: Jenny Wiik Kollegium: Kollegium 1 Färdigställt: 2007 Handledare: Veronica Trépagny Abstract: The focus of this Minor Field Study is public libraries in Mali. The aim is to explore the perspectives of users, librarians, employers and local level decision makers on the significance of and obstacles confronting three public libraries. Interviews and observations have been conducted in three public libraries in different regions of Mali. The results have been analysed with concepts from Library and Information Science in Africa within a postcolonial theoretical framework. The study’s results disclose that the majority of library users are educated boys. The public libraries play a very important role for this particular group according to the informants. The users use the library for learning, for facilitating their schooling and also for leisure. Obstacles facing these public libraries today are rooted in the effects of colonialism and hinder development. Problems are linked to poverty which inhibits public libraries from providing adequate documentation and, in consequence, from fulfilling users’ requirements. Le centre d’intérêt de cette étude est les bibliothèques publiques au Mali. L’objectif est d’explorer les perspectives des utilisateurs, des bibliothécaires, des employeurs et des décideurs locaux sur l’importance de ces trois bibliothèques et les obstacles rencontrés. Interviews et observations ont été réalisés dans trois bibliothèques publiques dans différentes régions au Mali. Les résultats ont été analysés à l’aide de concepts de la science de l’information en Afrique, dans le cadre de théories post-coloniales. Les résultats de l’étude montre que la majorité des utilisateurs des bibliothèques sont des garçons éduqués. La bibliothèque publique joue pour ces utilisateurs un rôle très important selon les interviewés. La bibliothèque est utilisée pour apprendre, faciliter la scolarité et les loisirs. Les obstacles dus aux effets du colonialisme freinent le développement de ces bibliothèques. Les problèmes sont liés à la pauvreté et empêchent les bibliothèques publique de fournir des documentations adéquates et, par conséquent, de ne pas réaliser l’exigence du public. Nyckelord: Afrika, beroendeteori, Mali, politik, postkolonialism, utvecklingsfrågor, världssystemanalysen, användare ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................................................................. 1 1. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................................. 2 1.1 THE RESEARCH PROBLEM ..................................................................................................................... 2 1.2 AIM .............................................................................................................................................................. 3 1.3 LIMITATIONS ............................................................................................................................................ 4 2. PREVIOUS RESEARCH ................................................................................................................................. 4 3. POSTCOLONIAL THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK.................................................................................. 6 3.1 DEPENDENCY THEORY........................................................................................................................... 6 3.2 WORLD-SYSTEM ANALYSIS .................................................................................................................. 7 3.3 POSTCOLONIALISM ................................................................................................................................. 8 3.4 MIDDLE RANGE THEORIES .................................................................................................................... 9 3.4.1 Adolphe O. Amadi................................................................................................................................. 9 3.4.2 Aissa Issak .......................................................................................................................................... 11 2.4.3 Paul Sturges........................................................................................................................................ 11 4. METHOD AND MATERIAL ........................................................................................................................ 13 4.1 OBSERVATIONS...................................................................................................................................... 14 4.1.1 Executed Observations ....................................................................................................................... 14 4.2 SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS ...................................................................................................... 15 4.2.1 Executed Semi-Structured Interviews ................................................................................................. 15 4.3 ANALYSING............................................................................................................................................. 16 4.4 BACKGROUND MATERIALS................................................................................................................. 17 4.5 CHOICES OF LIBRARIES........................................................................................................................ 17 4.6 FALLING OFF ........................................................................................................................................... 18 5. CONTEXT OF RESEARCH ......................................................................................................................... 18 5.1 MALI.......................................................................................................................................................... 19 5.1.1 Population .......................................................................................................................................... 19 5.1.2 Politics................................................................................................................................................ 19 5.1.3 Poverty................................................................................................................................................ 20 5.1.4 Literacy and Education....................................................................................................................... 20 5.1.5 Cultural Richness................................................................................................................................ 21 5.1.6 Administrative Divisions..................................................................................................................... 21 5.2 HISTORY OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN MALI ................................................................................ 22 5.3 THE PUBLIC LIBRARIES TODAY ......................................................................................................... 22 5.3.1 CNLP - Centre National de la Lecture Publique................................................................................ 23 5.3.2 AFLAM - Appui à la Filière du Livre au Mali.................................................................................... 23 6. RESULTS AND ANALYSIS.......................................................................................................................... 24 6.1 BOUGOUNI............................................................................................................................................... 24 6.1.1 The City............................................................................................................................................... 24 6.1.2 The Public Library.............................................................................................................................. 25 6.1.3 Informants........................................................................................................................................... 26 6.1.4 What Is A Public Library?.................................................................................................................. 26 6.1.5 How is the public library used?.......................................................................................................... 27 6.1.6 Which obstacles might the public library face?.................................................................................. 30 6.2 TOMBOUCTOU ........................................................................................................................................ 32 6.2.1 The City............................................................................................................................................... 32 6.2.2 The Public Library.............................................................................................................................
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