In this article we consider the configuration of the South African library and information services (LIS) sector, and
analyse the extent to which its structuring facilitates or hinders optimum service to the children and youth of South
Africa. The background to our investigation is the crisis in public schooling and the plight of South African youth
who suffer disproportionate rates of poverty and unemployment. In our investigation we examine the planning and
practice in two new libraries – one a community library, and one a joint-use library for learners and local residents
– in an effort to establish the extent to which libraries may partner with schools to take advantage of new thinking
that recommends a whole system approach, encapsulated in the metaphor of LIS as an ecosystem. We conclude
that this new approach might generate models of service delivery that transcend boundaries that traditionally
delineate and confine sub-sectors in the LIS sector.