With a career as a librarian, Raphael has had the privilege of serving numerous individuals from various backgrounds.

Raphael is an Assistant Librarian at a municipal library in Cape Town. With over twenty years’ experience, Raphael gives us a sneak peek into his passion for serving communities and his career in government.

After completing his high school career, Raphael was uncertain about his career choices, and so decided to volunteer at his local library. Six months later, a vacancy became available at the library. “It was only 10 hours per week – I would work the 10 hours over four days and the rest of the time I would be volunteering,” Raphael explains. “I helped out with certain activates and assisted at other libraries as well,” he adds.

In 1996, a full-time post at one of the neighbouring libraries became available, and after applying Raphael was accepted. “I’ve always had a passion for serving my community,” Raphael says of his love for his job. Over the years, he’s worked and served communities in eight different libraries.

A long tenure working in libraries has given Raphael the privilege of serving individuals from diverse backgrounds. “What I love and find rewarding about my career is adding value to someone else’s life,” he says. “It’s great sharing in the success stories of library users; from youth completing matric and enrolling into university and completing their education, to someone making use of the free internet to find a job or the one who’s busy house hunting.”

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Librarians are primarily responsible for helping people find anything they may be searching for; from books to general information from the internet.  However, over the years, the role of a librarian has evolved. Having experienced the transition in his own career, Raphael explains: “The function of the modern day librarian and libraries has changed from just being there to borrow books and library material. It is important that we stay up-to-date with modern technology as well.”

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Raphael stresses the importance of ensuring that one has a passion for serving people and the community in order to succeed in his line of work. Libraries often need volunteers, and Raphael suggests getting in contact with a librarian at a local library. “Volunteer your time – it’s the perfect way to discover whether this is actually the career you would like to follow.

“More importantly, you’ll have to obtain a qualification at a tertiary institution,” Raphael advises. He’s currently in the process of completing his Bachelor of Information Science degree through UNISA and has been fortunate enough to have his tuition fees funded through his employer.

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