Role of Libraries in Promoting the SDGs: A Focus on the University of South Africa

Abstract

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions is on record indicating that libraries can drive progress across all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) leading to the attainment of the 2030 Agenda. Yet, a 2018 study in Osun State, Nigeria, revealed that none of the libraries surveyed had immediate and/or long-term plans for scaling up awareness raising of the SDGs. This research took note of the foregoing, and emerges from a partnership between the SDGs for Society (SDGs4S) Research Stream and the University of South Africa (Unisa) Libraries. The SDGs4S Research Stream provides lenses through which trans-, inter- and multidisciplinary research takes place to address challenges focusing on people and the planet. Data was generated through participatory action research and a survey that sampled 72 respondents to reflect their experience of using the SDGs4S Library Guide, a quasi-open-access online portal. The Unisa libraries see this partnership as an opportunity to support Unisa’s mission of advancing development and ensuring global sustainability. The key finding is that the SDGs4S Library Guide portal was established as a one-stop shop for resources on the SDGs, which will enable researchers to locate key information easily. The portal has, among other contents, key internet sites, open-access reports and statistics, open education resources, books, journal articles, theses and dissertations and newspaper links. Although relatively new, the portal has been attracting traffic, thereby promoting the Unisa libraries as agents of change in the SDG space, especially given that Unisa is host to over 350,000 students across the world, many of whom are from Africa and countries with inadequate library facilities.