John Tsebe was National Librarian of the National Library: Republic of South Africa (NLSA) from March 2004 till February 2014. He retired from the NLSA end of February 2014. Before that he was University Librarian for twenty years  

He studied at the University of the North (now University of Limpopo) for six years for both under-graduate and post-graduate studies. He also holds a Master of Library Science (MLS) from the School of Information Studies, Syracuse University, New York, USA, and a Master in Public Administration (MPA) degree from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, USA

(He is one of the founder members of the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA

Within the broader Library and Information Services (LIS) context in the African continent, he chaired the Executive Committee of the Standing Conference of African National and University Libraries - Eastern, Central and Southern Africa (SCANUL-ECS) for two terms, four years, namely, the periods: 1998–2000 and 2000–2002

As Chairperson of SCANUL-ECS he represented this African sub-region in the West African region at the SCAULWA (Standing Conference African University Libraries-West Africa) meetings at Achimota, Accra, Ghana, twice

He served as a member of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Standing Committee for National Libraries Section 2007–2011

He was the Vice-Chairperson (2007–2010) and later Chairperson of the Conference of Directors of National Libraries (CDNL) from 2011 until his retirement in February 2014. CDNL is a committee of all the Executive Heads of all the National Libraries of the world

John Tsebe travelled extensively to different parts of the world in order to encourage, develop and sustain global partnerships in the Library and Information Services (LIS) sector

He has been recently elected as the President of AfLIA (African Library and Information Associations and Institutions). AfLIA is a new continental LIS association established to strengthen libraries in Africa for Africa’s development and sustainable growth