The impact of new information technology (NIT) is important to research and education, globalization of business and industry, and to the daily workings of society. Advances in NIT are profoundly affecting society and fundamentally changing the working culture as we now know it. But while the impact of NIT is revolutionary, particularly in the industrialized world, in the rest of the technically less advanced societies access to the emerging technologies is still a problem. In almost all African countries, for instance, information technology (IT) is still in its infancy. Powerful microcomputers linked to global networks exchanging digital informationóthanks to the emergence of the World Wide Web (WWW) is today a common sight in many libraries around the world, in Africa the supply of books and journals has long been a problem!

Of course, such a comparison is by no means unequivocal. The information superhighway, as it exists at present, is far from being a "perfect system."1 For instance, there is a fundamental conflict between the government objective of affordable, universal access, and the commercial imperative to make profit (Griffith and Smith, 1994). Looked at in terms of the "broader picture", advancements in NIT tend to create social differences within and between countries. If the notion of having an Information Society for all is accepted as an important development strategy for the decades to come, then the international community and national governments alike must institute an appropriate policy framework that would assist various sectors of the populace to benefit from advances in IT. In the context of Africa, libraries are perhaps the easiest and cheapest way of strengthening a reading culture. Without libraries there is no hope for a stable reading culture, without reading there is no education, without education there is no sustainable development. It is imperative, therefore, that libraries be part and parcel of any overall national educational strategy.

2. A GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE AFRICAN SITUATION

Many Sub-Saharan African countries are faced with severe economic challenges which should not be ignored. Africa's economic performance until recently was characterized by too many cases of uneven or weak policy implementation, leading to poor results. However, for the first time there are encouraging signs of progress, with an increasing number of countries registering substantial rates of economic growth, while reducing inflation and financial imbalances. Within this general framework, several countries have posted better results than others, mainly as a consequence of rigorously implementing a wide range of socio-economic policies and structural reforms. At present, 21 African countries are implementing comprehensive programs supported through the International Monetary Fund's Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility. These programs require governments to reduce public expenditure among other things. As a consequence, public spending on libraries has been cut back to an alarming degree. These policies have had a devastating effect on education in Sub-Saharan Africa where only 15 percent of all girls attend secondary school. For boys the figure is 22 percent. The adult literacy rate in the continent averages 50 percent.

IMPLICATION FOR LIBRARIES

Inevitably, the central issue for libraries today is how to respond to change brought about by new information technology. While some libraries, notably those from rich countries, are concerned with the acquisition of electronic materials and services, in poorer countries the strategy remains collection of printed material (Mackenzie and Feather, 1996). Although it is relatively hard to estimate the cultural and developmental importance of books in Sub-Saharan Africa where they are not readily available (Kurtze, 1997), it can nonetheless be argued that books are the easiest and cheapest way of strengthening a reading culture. Accordingly, African governments should accord library development the highest priority since libraries are the key to education and development. Libraries promote literature and education. In turn, people develop ideas through reading.

THE PROFESSION OF LIBRARIANSHIP

In Sub-Saharan Africa, librarianship - the information profession - is still a low status "backwater" job, offering little opportunity for professional development. Although generally better remunerated, the profession of librarian probably receives less recognition than that of the teacher. As a consequence, training of librarians has not been given due emphasis. In Zimbabwe, for example, teachers have for long been able to pursue their profession to degree level. The same does not apply for librarians. The only professional training available is a full-time three-year diploma course at the Harare Polytechnic, followed by a one-year Higher National Diploma at the same institute.2 Henceforth, individual students interested in professional development have to struggle to secure funding in order to pursue degree courses abroad. This situation has resulted in a serious shortage of degreed librarians (Derges, 1997).

The dilemma presented by NIT to librarianship, information dissemination and access is viewed with a mixture of feelings by professional librarians, ranging from the distinctly adverse (DeVinney, 1994; Fine 1994; Quinn, 1994; and Wisner, 1994), to the almost exultant (Davis and Niessen, 1994; Snow, 1994; and Whitney and Glogoff, 1994). If the impact of information technology on the profession is taken as inevitable, it is pertinent for librarians and information professionals to acquaint themselves with the technological developments in information handling and transformation in order to keep abreast with the changing times. To keep pace with the demands that changes in IT bring, the importance of training and retraining cannot be overemphasized. Beyond training, however, modern librarians must develop awareness of the changes that are happening around them, inquisitiveness to discover new ideas and organizational flexibility.

3. THE CASE OF RURAL LIBRARIES PROGRAM IN ZIMBABWE

The Rural Libraries and Resource Development Program (RLRDP) was founded in January 1990. The RLRDP was set up to:

Under the RLRDP, rural librarians are trained in the basics of librarianship, exposed to gender and development studies, networking and popular education methods. Training modules are continually reviewed to make them relevant to the changes in the rural environment. Such an "integrated approach" to the training of rural librarians enhances their skills in managing a more effective library and information service sensitive to the environmental, cultural and gender concerns. This makes them more responsive to the areas of specific information needs expressed by rural communities. Other courses offered by the Training and Publications Unit include project planning and management, children library services and training of trainers.

RLRDP has two sub-offices in the eastern and western regions. Located in Nyaki District in Matebeleland North Province and in Nyanga District in Manicaland Province, these sub-offices advise, motivate and support the development of rural libraries/information centers. They are channels through which the program accesses rural communities. The communities are structured into "clusters". A cluster is a grouping of four or five adjacent libraries that have a network relationship. An elected Cluster Networking Committee (CNC) administers each cluster. At the district level, all the clusters regularly meet at a forum known as the District Networking Committee (DNC). The DNC is composed of representatives from each cluster in the district. Its task include identifying the needs of the communities and communicating such needs to the TAPU and GADU. The sub-offices also aim at promoting best methods of rural library development and the use of information found in those libraries. Thus, study circles and other popular education learning methods have been developed in the eastern and western regions. As a link between rural communities and the RLRDP, the sub-offices also expedite the acquisition of relevant reading materials and the organization of workshops and seminars as and when requested by communities.

Through the activities of the sub-offices, the RLRDP has developed donkey-drawn cart libraries. This innovative mobile service allows for networking since it affords the participating libraries to reach out to remote communities. Also, the service is sustainable because it requires no fossil fuel to run. The cost of wear and tear of the donkey carts is much lower than that of motorized vehicles operating on the rough tracks and roads in the rural areas. Another innovation has been the introduction of book boxes and delivery bicycles administered by the sub-offices. The book boxes are deposited at a rural library for one month after which that book box is replaced with another having a different set of books. This allows communities to have access to a variety of books while strengthening the rural libraries network. The book box scheme and the bicycles have also made library services possible in areas that do not have easy access to libraries owing to poor roads and long distances.

4. CONCLUSION

The majority of people in the poor Sub-Saharan African countries have no access to new information technology. This, however, has not diminished their need for information and information services. Using their own resources they are capable of innovating simple but functional means of accessing information they need as the case of the Rural Libraries and Resources Development Program aptly demonstrates. If the notion of having an Information Society for all is accepted as an important development strategy for the decades to come, then the international community and national governments alike must institute an appropriate policy framework that would assist various sectors of the populace to benefit from advances in NIT.

Given that society is heterogeneous, needs also tend to vary. At the local level, the needs of communities must be assessed and commensurate and sustainable interventions designed. At the global level, there is need to develop framework and policies that enable NIT to be harnessed effectively. The aim of such a policy framework should not be to regulate for the sake of creating and administering set of rules, but to create new opportunities that make NIT function better. The fact that existing international instruments and organizations do not adequately cover NIT for maximum potential is a major impediment to research, education and globalization of business and industry. This double thronged approach is both just and rational.

REFERENCES

Davis, D. G. and Niessen, J. P. (1994) "Negotiating the passage from user demands to needs," Journal of Academic Librarianship, 20 (3): 140-141. Quoted in Mackenzie, G. and John Feather (eds.) (1996) Librarianship and Information Work Worldwide 1995. London: Bowker-Saur.

Derges, A. (1997, August 5). "Information profession still a ëbackwaterí job," The Herald.

DeVinney, G. (1994). "Rushing toward the emerald city?" Journal of Academic Librarianship, 20 (3): 91-92. Quoted in Mackenzie, G. and John Feather (eds.) (1996) Librarianship and Information Work Worldwide 1995. London: Bowker-Saur.

Fine, S. (1994). "A psychologistís response," Journal of Academic Librarianship, 20 (3): 138-9. Quoted in Mackenzie, G. and John Feather (eds.) (1996) Librarianship and Information Work Worldwide 1995. London: Bowker-Saur.

Griffith, J. B. and Smith, M. S. (1994). "The information superhighway and the National Information Infrastructure (NII)," Journal of Academic Librarianship, 20 (3): 83-95. Quoted in Mackenzie, G. and John Feather (eds.) (1996) Librarianship and Information Work Worldwide 1995. London: Bowker-Saur.

Kurtze, G. (1997, August 6). "Books vital for man's development," The Herald.

Mackenzie, G. and John Feather (eds.) (1996). Librarianship and Information Work Worldwide 1995. London: Bowker-Saur.

Quinn, D. (1994). "The information age: another giant step backward," Journal of Academic Librarianship, 20 (3): 134-5. Quoted in Mackenzie, G. and John Feather (eds.) (1996). Librarianship and Information Work Worldwide 1995. London: Bowker-Saur.

Snow, M. (1994). "Forward with the people," Journal of Academic Librarianship, 20 (3): 142-3. Quoted in Mackenzie, G. and John Feather (eds.) (1996). Librarianship and Information Work Worldwide 1995. London: Bowker-Saur.

Whitney, G. and Glogoff, S. (1994). "Automation for the nineties: a review article," Library Quarterly, 64 (3): 319-331. Also Journal of Academic Librarianship, 20 (3): 91-92. Quoted in Mackenzie, G. and John Feather (eds.) (1996). Librarianship and Information Work Worldwide 1995. London: Bowker-Saur.

Wisner, W. H. (1994). "Back toward people: a symposium," Journal of Academic Librarianship, 20 (3): 131-3. Quoted in Mackenzie, G. and John Feather (eds.) (1996). Librarianship and Information Work Worldwide 1995. London: Bowker-Saur.