Public Library struggling to survive
Bulawayo Public Library is one of the few social services still operating to a high standard in the city, but is suffering from a huge drop in its grant income because its City Council grant, which formerly covered 50% of its running costs, has now shrunk to less than 1% due to inflation.
Although the Library has increased its charges and started new services such as an Internet cafe, which has seen income increase from Z$6 million in 2002 to Z$350 million in 2004, staff salaries are now
only half the amount paid to staff in other local libraries and we are seeing senior staff leave to work in the Municipal Libraries, which pay double the Public Library salaries. The Public Library currently has 17,000 users - the highest it has ever had in its history, and close to 300,000 books are borrowed every year, but inflation and the resulting drop in the value of grants are making it difficult to survive.
