Iconic Joburg library reopens after years
But the City still has a list of public libraries that remain closed
Johannesburg City Library has finally opened after it was closed in May 2021 for repairs. The library holds over 1.5-million books and a vast collection of archived material not available anywhere else. Photos: Silver Sibiya
- The Johannesburg City Library has finally opened after it was closed in May 2021 for repairs.
- The library holds over 1.5-million books and a vast collection of archived material not available anywhere else.
- But the municipality still has a list of public libraries that remain closed to the public.
The iconic Johannesburg City Library has finally opened following its four-year closure.
But the municipality still has a list of public libraries that remain closed to the public.
The central library was closed in May 2021, though access had already been curtailed since the 2020 lockdowns. Residents were not able to access the library which holds over 1.5-million books as well as a vast collection of archived material not available anywhere else.
Library patrons held several protests led by the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation, Johannesburg Crisis Alliance, and the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, among others, calling for upgrades — at a cost of more than R70-million — to be fast-tracked. The City had claimed that the lengthy closure of the library was exacerbated by repairs needed on leakages and extensive electrical work on the old heritage buildings.
In January, the City had promised that upgrades would be done by June. But the library was only formally opened by Mayor Dada Moreno on Women’s Day, 9 August.
“We are excited that the library is officially fully operational… The 90-year-old library was restored during women’s month. We are celebrating our women. We are just in a celebratory mood,” Morero said.
The Drieziek Library in Orange Farm was closed for over a year by the security guards currently guarding the facility. They are demanding payment.
Other libraries still remain closed
One of several City libraries that have been closed for years include the Louisa Prince Library in Ennerdale Extension 9. In July last year, GroundUp reported on the library’s closure, also since lockdown in 2020. While the library had opened briefly, it closed abruptly again in 2021 because of electrical faults. In January officials acknowledged that no date had been set for when the library would reopen.
This week, City of Johannesburg spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane said that repairs and maintenance at Louisa Prince could take another year to complete because a contractor is yet to be appointed. “The project is now part of the 2025/2026 planned maintenance list,” he said.
Meanwhile the construction of the new Brixton Library is expected to be completed by 30 August after the old library was demolished.
Another library caught in controversy is Drieziek Library in Orange Farm. Construction started in 2014. While the library was opened briefly in May last year, it was never used due to a workers’ strike.
Modingoane said the Drieziek Library was closed by the security guards currently guarding the facility. “The guards were employed by the contractor and remained at the library when the contractor left the site. After the official opening, the site could not be handed over to the City due to outstanding documents. It remains the property of the provincial government,” he said.
He added that the guards are preventing the community and staff from accessing the facility, and are demanding to be paid.
He said more work would be needed because the library has since been vandalised. “The Provincial Department of Libraries and Archival Services has committed to doing the necessary repairs to the building before the library reopens. The province has also committed to assisting in paying salaries to the guards for a period of four months while the outstanding issues are resolved.”
Questions to the provincial department were not answered by the time of publication.
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