Course:LIBR562/S2012/Group3/Tonga

The Kingdom of Tonga is located in the western region of Polynesia. It consists of an archipelago of over 170 islands. European contact with Tonga dates back to 1616, however, unlike other Pacific nations, Tonga was never colonized. Tonga is a constitutional monarchy, with its monarchical tradition dating back over 1,000 years, and at times extended into parts of Fiji, Niue, American and Western Samoa, and Tokelau.

Tongan and English are the official languages. The population is estimated over 104,000 and the literacy rate for those 15 and older is 99%.

Featured Library

Tonga's Vava'u Public LIbrary is the only public library in the Kingdom of Tonga. They are supported by the United States Peace Corps, small grants from the NZAid, and donations from Rotary clubs. The library has a part-time librarian and no telephone, but they do have a small computer centre and a printer.

The library collection houses over 3,000 works of fiction, 1,000 children's book, and 1,500 non-fiction and reference books. They also run a vibrant children and youth programme on Saturdays, a scholarship program, and a library "Fun Day" at the beginning of every June.

Natural Disasters

Tonga is located on the 'Ring of Fire' and is vulnerable to cyclones, floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, etc. on top of the general preservation concerns involved with tropical climates. The economy is small, with about 55% being based on remittances.

Of the disasters that can impact Tonga, cyclones, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions cause the most damage and are the most costly for Tonga to manage. Beginning in 2007 two pieces of legislation were introduced to better equip Tonga to manage and prevent disasters: the Emergency Management Act and the Emergency Fund Act. For Tonga it is important to note that while "There is high-level political commitment for disaster preparedness and response and disaster risk reduction in the Kingdom. This reflected in the enactment of the legislation, development of policies, plans and strategies and mobilization of resources to address the impact of any disaster or emergency" there are challenges with "mainstream[ing] disaster risk reduction strategies into the operational plans of all sectors of the government."

Legislation

A thorough search of Tongan government websites produced no information on the structure or expectations of libraries in Tonga. A UNESCO report on Tongan education progress in the 1990s indicates that progress was made regarding libraries during that time. It mentions specifically that more libraries were established, as well as a mobile library service, and various literacy initiatives were instituted or continued.

Library Association

In 1999, Tonga Library Association (TLA) President Judy Ma’ilei wrote the following on the International Association of School Librarianship website: “Happy first birthday to International School Library Day!! Our Library Association is small but individual school libraries are organising special library activities for their students to mark this special day in our small island Kingdom of about 98,000 people and 150 islands, only 36 of which are inhabited.” This small organization “works to promote all libraries in the kingdom and also conducts workshops for school library staff.” In 1989, the TLA held its first National Library Week which ran until 1994 (cancelled only as a result of duplicating efforts with a local literacy day run by the Ministry of Education). As of 2000, the TLA’s focus was on “library staff training, resource development and one or two major activity for schools in the town area.”