Book publication in South African languages

This study has 2 objectives, To provide a current status of writers and publishers in indigenous South African languages and To investigate experienced difficulties encountered by librarians in providing information resources in their communities. It is a descriptive survey where questionnaires were used to collect data to achieve the objectives of the study. As a result of random sampling 33 publishers, 25 public libraries and 71 writers formed the sample of the study. The survey gives the status of writers, publishers and public libraries in South Africa. Data has been presented and interpreted, based on the responses of the publishers, writers and the librarians of the libraries. The findings reflect that indigenous languages are not given the necessary attention by the democratic state. Recommendations were based on the notion that indigenous language publications in public libraries should have the necessary attention, and both publishers and writers be commissioned by the government for their works. As a result of serious debates about indigenous languages in S.Africa, further research should be conducted on the publication of books and their availability in public libraries