Librarians-in Tech Event in Freetown, Sierra Leone

Host: Dunstanette Bodkin

In Sierra Leone, Dunstanette Orehdola Bodkin organized the first Librarians-in-Tech event in Freetown. In collaboration with the Sierra Leone Library Board, the event brought together 47 library and information professionals for an engaging conversation on libraries and technology. The librarians talked about emerging library tech skills like data analysis, software engineering, artificial intelligence, etc., and how these applications will mean digital repositories, more efficient and smarter e-libraries, and automated library processes and better access and retrieval of information.

The Librarians-In-Tech event at the Sierra Leone Library Board had two special guests at the event: Sheik Umar Sesay and Ethleen George, who led discussions on the growing importance of technology in the library ecosystem. According to Dunstanette, a WhatsApp community was also created to sustain the conversation and encourage continued learning around library technology. The event was livestreamed on Facebook, which allowed librarians from other parts of Sierra Leone to participate virtually and follow the discussions.

So far, through the Librarians-in-Tech Initiative, we have recorded events in school libraries, in the virtual space, and now in collaboration with a library association. One of the goals of Librarians-in-Tech is to bring library and information professionals together wherever they are to have conversations on library technology and emerging library tech skills.

The Librarians-in-Tech event at the Sierra Leone Library Board is another indication that African librarians can and are interested in leading library tech innovations. However, the event anchor in Sierra Leone encountered several challenges, including financial constraints, difficulty mobilizing librarians from other institutions and library schools to participate with the Sierra Leone Library Board, and the need to support logistics for guest speakers. The team also experienced poor internet connectivity during the event.

These challenges reflect both the opportunities in the interest and willingness of librarians to grow as well as the gaps like the lack of accessible and affordable pathways to acquire library technology skills, which remain largely absent from formal library education not only in Sierra Leone but across many African nations.

To close these gaps, Library Aid Africa through LibraryXAfrica offers affordable and hands-on training on library software engineering, library data analysis and management, artificial intelligence, library product design, and digital marketing as a pathway to acquiring library tech skills. Librarians can now explore emerging library tech skills to improve data management and other library processes as part of our effort to close the technology gap in librarianship.

This event reminds us of the need to strengthen collaborations and partnerships that will enable librarians to access the tools, information, and infrastructure needed for professional growth and development so they can better serve their communities to provide access to information and support literacy in African communities.