Libraries in Namibia
Library and information services management in Namibia is centralized and is funded through the Central Government.
At present, alongside the National Library and the National Archives, there are 65 public libraries, 489 school libraries (not all schools have functional school libraries), 19 academic libraries and 14 ministerial / special libraries.
The Namibia Library and Archives Service (NLAS), a directorate within the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, is a central agency mandated to implement national and international standards relating to library and information work. Its purpose is to secure equal access to knowledge and information for lifelong learning, by creating and maintaining professional expertise and a nationwide network of libraries and information centres. The NLAS is legally established through the Namibia Library and Information Service Act of 2000.
The NLAS is responsible for promoting, establishing, equipping and managing libraries and information services. Its jurisdiction encompasses:
Namibian libraries have a commendable interest in driving Information and Communication Technology (ICT) literacy and training and providing attractive child-oriented library services to boost library usage.
Key among the services provided by libraries are: free internet access, reference services, printing, photocopy and scanning services at a minimal fee, free ICT/computer training, reading/study facilities, children’s library sections, homework support, reading competitions for children, television broadcasting, online databases and inter-library lending.
The Namibia Information Workers Association (NIWA), established in 1990, is the only national library association in the country and is open to all information workers and information institutions in Namibia. NIWA strives to unite all information workers in Namibia and to raise the level of expertise of information workers by offering a wide range of training seminars, workshops and other relevant activities. NIWA also actively advocates for the role and contribution of libraries in the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Library data
Contextual data
Population
Population Growth
Proportion of Population Younger than 15
Proportion of Population Older than 64
Population Density
people per sq km
Population Growth
Access to Electricity
Internet Users
Female Internet Users
Male Internet Users
GDP per capita
Poverty Rate
2011 PPP
Inequality
2011 PPP
Unemployment
Inactive Youth
2011 PPP
Education Spending
% of GDP
Adult Literacy Rate
% of people age 15+
Female Adult Literacy
% of GDP
Male Adult Literacy
% of people age 15+
Female Youth Literacy
% of GDP
Male Youth Literacy
% of people age 15+
Research Spending
% of GDP
Researchers
% of GDP
Research Spending
% of GDP
Library data
|
Library type |
Total |
National |
Academic |
Public |
Community |
School |
Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Libraries (Service Points)
231
Library service point is a fixed or mobile facility through which library provides a service to its users. Central libraries, branch libraries, mobile libraries, and external service points located in different geographical locations and managed by one administrative unit are all each individual service points. Number of libraries is the total number of central/main libraries, branch libraries, external service points and mobile libraries. |
231 2022 |
1 2022 |
— |
65 2022 |
— |
149 2022 |
16 2022 |
|
Main Libraries
212
Central/main library is usually part or those parts of an administrative unit where the main administrative functions and the important parts of the library collection and services are located. An administrative unit comprising several branch libraries does not necessarily include a central library. |
212 2022 |
1 2022 |
— |
62 2022 |
— |
149 2022 |
— |
|
Branch Libraries
0
Branch library is a part of a larger administrative unit providing, in separate quarters, a service for a particular user group (e.g. children, faculties) or for a locally defined clientele. Institute, departmental and other affiliated libraries are included. Mobile libraries and external service points are excluded. |
0 2022 |
0 2022 |
— |
0 2022 |
— |
0 2022 |
— |
|
External Service Points
0
External service point is a point away from library premises at which a certain service is regularly offered to users. This includes places within a locality at which library material is deposited for informal circulation to a restricted group of users but without other library services, for example, old people’s homes, community centres, collections for hospital patients. Mobile libraries and their stops are not counted as external service points. |
0 2022 |
0 2022 |
— |
0 2022 |
— |
0 2022 |
— |
|
Mobile Libraries
3
Mobile library is a library, sometimes a division of a public library, using transport means to provide documents and services directly to users as an alternative to access on library premises. |
3 2022 |
0 2022 |
— |
3 2022 |
— |
0 2022 |
— |
|
Libraries (Administrative Units)
4
Administrative unit is any independent library, or group of libraries, under a single directorate or a single administration. The term “independent” does not imply legal or financial independence but only that the library is a recognisably separate unit, typically within a larger organisation. The administrative unit can be a single library or a larger organisation, typically containing a central/main library, branch libraries and administrative functions. |
4 2022 |
1 2022 |
— |
1 2022 |
— |
1 2022 |
1 2022 |
|
Libraries with Internet Access
78
Libraries (Service Points) that provides internet access from at least one workstation available to the public regardless of whether access is free, and/or provides a wireless network allowing users to connect to the Internet. |
78 2022 |
1 2022 |
— |
61 2022 |
— |
— |
16 2022 |
|
Full-Time Staff
276
Full-time equivalent (FTE) staff are all library employees who work for the library in return for payment. It includes professional staff, qualified staff, project staff and assistants. Other staff (library employees who work in security and on domestic duties, for example, cleaners, porters, caretakers and catering staff) and volunteers are excluded. |
276 2022 |
22 2022 |
— |
184 2022 |
— |
47 2022 |
23 2022 |
|
Volunteers
8
Volunteer is a person working on library tasks without payment. In counting volunteers, the concept of headcount is used. |
8 2022 |
5 2018 |
— |
— |
— |
3 2022 |
— |
|
Registered Users
258,283
Registered user is a person or organisation registered with a library in order to use its collection and/or services within or away from the library. Users may be registered upon their request or automatically when enrolling in the institutions. |
258,283 2022 |
8,733 2022 |
— |
219,085 2022 |
— |
30,465 2022 |
— |
|
Physical Visits
601,030
Physical visit is a person (individual) entering the library premises. |
601,030 2022 |
16,294 2019 |
— |
442,461 2022 |
— |
108,716 2022 |
33,559 2022 |
|
Physical Loans
358,087
Physical loan is a direct lending or delivery transaction of an item in physical form. Physical loans include loans of items in non-electronic form (e.g. books) and loans electronic documents on a physical carrier (e.g. CD-ROM). |
358,087 2022 |
45 2022 |
— |
244,845 2022 |
— |
108,716 2022 |
4,481 2022 |
|
eBook Loans
—
eBook is a non-serial digital document, licenced or not, where searchable text is prevalent, and similar to a print book (monograph). eBooks can be lent to users either on portable devices (eBook readers) or by transmitting the contents to the user’s PC or other device for a limited time period. |
— |
N/A 2019 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
Audio Book Loans
15,716
Audio book (or talking book) is a sound recording of readings of a book, magazine, or newspaper, usually designed for use by visually impaired people. Audio books can be lent to users either on a physical carrier or other device, or by transmitting the content to the user’s PC or other device for a limited time period. |
15,716 2019 |
N/A 2019 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
15,716 2019 |
|
Downloads
53,951
Download is a content unit that is successfully requested from a library-provided online service or other internet service (e.g. database, electronic serial or digital document). |
53,951 2019 |
N/A 2019 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
53,951 2018 |
Contextual data
|
Population |
Namibia |
Region |
World |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Population Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates. |
3,030,131 2024 |
1,291,044,964 2024 |
8,141,808,945 2024 |
|
Proportion of Population Younger than 15 Age dependency ratio, young, is the ratio of younger dependents--people younger than 15--to the working-age population--those ages 15-64. Data are shown as the proportion of dependents per 100 working-age population. |
62.3% 2024 |
72.5% 2024 |
38.0% 2024 |
|
Proportion of Population Older than 64 Age dependency ratio, old, is the ratio of older dependents--people older than 64--to the working-age population--those ages 15-64. Data are shown as the proportion of dependents per 100 working-age population. |
6.2% 2024 |
5.7% 2024 |
15.7% 2024 |
|
Population Growth Annual population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. |
2.2% 2024 |
2 2024 |
1.0% 2024 |
|
Population Density Population density is midyear population divided by land area in square kilometers. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship--except for refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum, who are generally considered part of the population of their country of origin. Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes. |
3.6% 2023 |
51.5% 2022 |
61.6% 2022 |
|
Urban Population Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. The data are collected and smoothed by United Nations Population Division. |
50.4% 2024 |
44.1% 2024 |
57.6% 2024 |
|
Information Infrastructure |
Namibia |
Region |
World |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet Users Internet users are individuals who have used the Internet (from any location) in the last 3 months. The Internet can be used via a computer, mobile phone, personal digital assistant, games machine, digital TV etc. |
64.4% 2023 |
33.6% 2024 |
71.2% 2024 |
|
Female Internet Users This indicator refers to female individuals who have used the Internet (from any location) in the last 3 months. The Internet can be used via a computer, mobile phone, personal digital assistant, games machine, digital TV etc. |
- |
29.4% 2024 |
68.2% 2024 |
|
Male Internet Users This indicator refers to male individuals who have used the Internet (from any location) in the last 3 months. The Internet can be used via a computer, mobile phone, personal digital assistant, games machine, digital TV etc. |
- |
29.4% |
- |
|
Access to Electricity Access to electricity is the percentage of population with access to electricity. Electrification data are collected from industry, national surveys and international sources. |
56.7% 2023 |
53.3% 2023 |
91.6% 2023 |
|
Economy, Poverty, and Employment |
Namibia |
Region |
World |
|---|---|---|---|
|
GDP per Capita This indicator provides values for gross domestic product (GDP) expressed in current international dollars, converted by purchasing power parities (PPPs). PPPs account for the different price levels across countries and thus PPP-based comparisons of economic output are more appropriate for comparing the output of economies and the average material well-being of their inhabitants than exchange-rate based comparisons. Gross domestic product is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period. It can be measured in three different ways: using either the expenditure approach, the income approach, or the production approach. This series has been linked to produce a consistent time series to counteract breaks in series over time due to changes in base years, source data and methodologies. Thus, it may not be comparable with other national accounts series in the database for historical years. The core indicator has been divided by the general population to achieve a per capita estimate. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. The PPP conversion factor is a currency conversion factor and a spatial price deflator. PPPs convert different currencies to a common currency and, in the process of conversion, equalize their purchasing power by eliminating the differences in price levels between countries, thereby allowing volume or output comparisons of GDP and its expenditure components. |
11,687 2024 |
5,517.4 2024 |
24,405 2024 |
|
Poverty Rate Poverty headcount ratio at $3.00 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $3.00 a day at 2021 purchasing power adjusted prices. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions. |
22.9% 2015 |
46.0% 2024 |
10.3% 2024 |
|
Inequality Gini index measures the extent to which the distribution of income (or, in some cases, consumption expenditure) among individuals or households within an economy deviates from a perfectly equal distribution. A Lorenz curve plots the cumulative percentages of total income received against the cumulative number of recipients, starting with the poorest individual or household. The Gini index measures the area between the Lorenz curve and a hypothetical line of absolute equality, expressed as a percentage of the maximum area under the line. Thus a Gini index of 0 represents perfect equality, while an index of 100 implies perfect inequality. |
59.1% 2015 |
0.0% |
- |
|
Unemployment Unemployment refers to the share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking employment. Definitions of labor force and unemployment differ by country. |
19.9% 2018 |
0.0% |
6.2% 2021 |
|
Inactive Youth The share of youth not in education, employment or training (also known as “the NEET rate”) conveys the number of young persons not in education, employment or training as a percentage of the total youth population. Youth not in education are those who were neither enrolled in school nor in a formal training program (e.g. vocational training). For the purposes of this indicator, youth is defined as all persons between the ages of 15 and 24 (inclusive). percentage of youth population |
31.9% 2018 |
0.0% |
- |
|
Education and Literacy |
Namibia |
Region |
World |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Education Spending General government expenditure on education (current, capital, and transfers) is expressed as a percentage of GDP. It includes expenditure funded by transfers from international sources to government. General government usually refers to local, regional and central governments. percentage of GDP |
9.1% 2024 |
3.3% 2023 |
3.5% 2023 |
|
Adult Literacy Rate Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life. percentage of people ages 15 and above |
87.6% 2023 |
3.3% 2023 |
87.7% 2024 |
|
Female Adult Literacy Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life. percentage of females ages 15 and above |
87.4% 2023 |
62.7% 2024 |
84.6% 2024 |
|
Male Adult Literacy Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life. percentage of males ages 15 and above |
87.4% 2023 |
74.9% 2024 |
90.9% 2024 |
|
Female Youth Literacy Youth literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15-24 who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life. percentage of females ages 15-24 |
93.5% 2023 |
76.6% 2024 |
92.0% 2024 |
|
Male Youth Literacy Youth literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15-24 who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life. percentage of males ages 15-24 |
90.8% 2023 |
81.3% 2024 |
94.1% 2024 |
|
Research and Innovation |
Namibia |
Region |
World |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Research Spending Gross domestic expenditures on research and development (R&D), expressed as a percent of GDP. They include both capital and current expenditures in the four main sectors: Business enterprise, Government, Higher education and Private non-profit. R&D covers basic research, applied research, and experimental development. percentage of GDP |
0.6% 2022 |
- |
2.7% 2022 |
|
Researchers The number of researchers engaged in Research &Development (R&D), expressed as per million. Researchers are professionals who conduct research and improve or develop concepts, theories, models techniques instrumentation, software of operational methods. R&D covers basic research, applied research, and experimental development. per million people |
225 2022 |
- |
1,516 2018 |
|
Scientific Articles Article counts refer to publications from a selection of conference proceedings and peer-reviewed journals from Scopus in science and engineering fields, according to the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics Taxonomy of Disciplines. fractional count |
220 2022 |
- |
3,338,192 2022 |
National Library Associations
NIWA was formed in 1990 and strives to promote information services throughout Namibia. NIWA is open to all information workers and information institutions in Namibia. NIWA’s objectives are:
Currently, NIWA have about 390 registered (paid up) members and 16 institutions as paid up members
National Library
The National Library of Namibia is the legal deposit and copyright library for Namibia. The National Library acts as the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) and the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) Agency for Namibia. This entails allocating ISBN/ISSN free of charge to books/serials published in Namibia.
Policy Making Institutions
The main objective of the Council is to promote the development and use of Library, Archives and information resources in Namibia for the benefit of the people of Namibia. The composition of the Council allows for representation by professional and interest groups on both local and regional to advise the Minister on the most effective means of ensuring access to information and knowledge in support of quality education, training and development, self-empowerment and lifelong learning.
The Council members are being appointed by the Minister of Education, Arts and Culture as mandated by the Namibia Library and Information Services Act, Act No. 4 of 2000.
Library Support Organisations
There are no library support organisations in Namibia.
National Policy for Libraries
The policy was prepared by a Legislation Committee appointed by the Minister of Basic Education and Culture and approved by Cabinet on 2 September 1997. The policy covers:
Library Law
The aim of the law, issued in 2000, is to provide for the establishment of the Namibia Library and Information Service, the National Library and the Namibia Library Information Council. To provide for the implementation of legal deposit and for incidental matters. To provide information and training to or conduct research on behalf of that library. Monitor adherence to the conditions of affiliation by that library.
Legal Deposit Law
National Library is designated by law to collect materials from Namibia or relating to Namibia. It should receive five copies of all materials that are published and intended to be generally available to the public, within two weeks of publication.
The Act defines documents subject to legal deposit as being ‘any information in textual, graphic, visual, auditory or other intelligible format stored through any medium, and any version or edition of a document which is significantly different from that document in respect of its information content or physical presentation and is considered to be a separate document’. What is mainly deposited are books, journals, annual reports and newspapers.
The National library gives access to deposited materials on-site and to researchers, but there is also a provision of scanning the documents and send them to users via emails (depends on the size of the document needed). It is also responsible for, on the basis of collected materials, creating a national bibliography.
Other institutions can be designated as ‘places of deposit’ and can receive copies of documents from the National Library.
The National Library is also responsible for co-ordinating and supplementing the acquisition, exchange, disposal or retention of any library material to ensure an adequate national library resources; provide access to its materials and to other information resources which are inside or outside Namibia through inter-lending, catalogues, databases, networking and user services.
Copyright Law & Library Exceptions and Limitations
The copyright law of Namibia includes no explicit library provisions. However, the fair dealing of a literary or artistic work for personal use in research or private study or teaching is not infringement, nor is quotation, or use in news reporting. In addition to reproductions permitted by the Act, other reproductions are permitted in prescribed circumstances when these do not conflict with normal exploitation of the work and are not unreasonably prejudicial to the legitimate interests of the owner of the copyright.
Upon enquiring, it seems the Namibian Copyright law includes no explicit library provisions, although the government has launched work towards an update to the law.
Professional Qualification Requirements
To become a professional Librarian, one needs a BA Degree in Library and Information Studies NQF L7 for the entry Librarian position and for Assistant Librarian, it requires a Diploma in Library Science. The qualification requirements are set for all library types in the Government structure.
Education
The Department of Information and Communication Studies at the University of Namibia is producing the Librarians and Archivists with the BA Honours Degree in Library and Information Studies and a Higher Diploma in Library and Information Studies.
Professional Publications
There is no information available.
Professional Events
Readathon is a reading activity being organized by Education Library Service within the Directorate of Namibia Library and Archives Service. The main goal of the event is to instil the culture of reading in children while they are young. The main target of the event are learners in Primary and Secondary levels. The main event is being celebrated nationally on the last Friday of September every year.
Library Location Resources
No information available
Contributors