Librarians and crises in the ‘old’ and ‘new’ South Africa

Abstract

This article reviews the responses of librarians to crises in the ‘old’ and ‘new’ South Africa. It draws on primary and secondary sources to tell the stories of librarians during personal, political and professional crises. States of emergency, censorship legislation, political and xenophobic violence in South Africa since the 1960s are some of the sources for these crises. Librarians and the wider library-caring community have adapted their strategies to champion the freedom of access to information and freedom of expression.