Abstract

The City of Johannesburg Library and Information Services introduced elearning services and technologies into the library environment to ensure the inclusion of the City of Johannesburg (COJ) communities in the digital society. Since the expansion of e-learning services in 2016, there have been a lot of successes amid challenges such as staffing, connectivity and budget cuts. COJ e-learning services have played a role in improving digital literacy, assisting in reducing unemployment, providing access to digital information and general internet usage.

The COVID-19 crisis has impacted on provision of library services in South Africa, Johannesburg. Librarians had to revisit the way library services are provided, by focusing on improving the use of information and communications technology and access to online content. This was to ensure that the Johannesburg communities are not left behind, especially considering that e-learning is being introduced to more sectors and for school learners and university students as a way of learning a wide range of disciplines. The COJ public libraries e-learning services can be viewed as an example of ongoing digital transformation of libraries, before and post the COVID-19 pandemic. This chapter documents the journey of COJ libraries since the introduction of e-learning services, including successes, failures and challenges faced.

Keywords:Digital transformation, e-learning in libraries, innovations in libraries, Sustainable Development Goals.

Introduction

The City of Johannesburg (COJ) is a metropolitan municipality within Gauteng Province in South Africa, with a population of more than four million citizens. COJ Library and Information Services (LIS), under Community Development, introduced e-learning services in libraries as part of the ‘Smart City’ project initiated by the City in 2013, focusing on rethinking existing structures to fully grasp the potential of information and communications technologies (ICTs), to deliver services and improve efficiencies (Ericsson, 2016).

e-Learning services were introduced to libraries in all seven Johannesburg regions, in 87 branch libraries. ‘Smart community’ is a term that has been used to characterize efforts to transform communities and make them more sustainable, efficient and transparent, and where citizen participation is the norm. COJ municipality has already made considerable progress in implementing Smart City measures, including the expansion of the Johannesburg broadband network; the roll-out of free Wi-Fi points around the city, including Wi-Fi spots within libraries, piloting e-health and elearning programmes in libraries as part of the digital transformation process (City of Johannesburg, 2020).