JOBURG LIBRARY REOPENS

For the first time in five years, the Johannesburg City Library (JCL) has been reopened.

This comes after mounting pressure from authors, academics, residents and civil society groups. The library was closed in May 2021 by the city, blaming structural issues.

The building that houses the library is 88 years old. It contains more than 1.5 million books and boats with six specialist libraries as well as a newspaper reading room.

According to the library’s last count, it has more than 250,000 members.

The Johannesburg Development Agency, which was responsible for the library’s refurbishment, said in a statement that the work done included structural repairs, heritage restoration, enhanced accessibility, upgraded electrical and security systems, modern HVAC installation, and refreshed reading rooms, study areas and archival storage.

“These improvements have transformed the library into a flagship example of sustainable, community-driven urban renewal. The JCL's significance extends beyond Johannesburg. It has been recognised by the Presidential Joburg Working Group under Workstream 7 of the G20 Initiative, which promotes tourism and safeguards cultural heritage sites,” the statement read.

Not only do residents use the library for the books, but students also use it as a place to study or work on assignments. The free WiFi allows many students to do their online research.

Image credit: The Mail & Guardian