The reopening of the Johannesburg City Library during the South African Library Week (SALW) and Human Rights Day demonstrates the city’s commitment to promoting, educating and improving access to information for its residents.
This year’s library week celebrations were from the 17th to the 23rd of March under the theme “Libraries for Sustainable Communities” and the Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Dada Morero emphasised the importance of libraries for various community stakeholders during his address at the official opening of phase one of the city library on Friday, 21 March 2025.
The mayor also said that members of the public will be able to access both the ground and first-floor rooms of the library which include the children’s section, young adult reference library, reference section and the lending section.
“Our stakeholders were quite excited, and school children were also invited to form part of the opening today. I believe that the community will once again embrace this library which remains a privilege in Johannesburg,” said Morero.
He further added that more libraries across the city were going to be reopened throughout the year to ensure that people have access to library services. This commitment was included in the 2025/26 budget which allocated funds to the refurbishment of more libraries.
“We are also working on bringing back several programmes which includes an online programme that will enable students to enroll with international universities and study online,” he added.
Up to R24.4 million has been spent so far, for the R57 million project to renovate the historical building which was shut down during the 2020 lockdown, enforced to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic which was declared a global pandemic at the time.
During the closure, it was then discovered that the library’s roof was leaking, and the building was not compliant with fire safety regulations by the city’s emergency services department because it lacked the necessary fire detection system and water.
Some of the repairs done include roof tile replacements, gutters installation, waterproofing, paint work, floor coverings, fire installations (tanks, pumps, fire doors, fire extinguishers, fire signage and gas suppression system), and electrical installations (generator, UPS, distribution boards, light points and plug points).
“We also took the decision that no money would be spent without the certification from a professional engineer. We do not pay in advance and only pay against the delivery of items,” said Themba Mathibe, the chief executive officer of the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA).
Mathibe added that the agency would use a similar approach to other projects to ensure that they are delivered on time and as budgeted.
Prudence Dube, a Grade 11 learner from Thuto Lefa Secondary School in Lawley, said her school did not have a library and she could not participate in the library week celebrations because even her community library in Ennerdale was also shut.
While she is grateful to have attended the reopening of the Joburg City Library, she will not be able to access it because of the transport costs needed for her to commute to the city centre.
“I only heard about library week when the mayor was speaking today and I didn’t know that I would be part of the celebration of library week when I came here,” Dube explained.
According to her, the library in her community remaining closed even during library week meant that the importance for the children in her community to access library services was not fully understood.The Joburg City Library is expected to be fully operational by the end of August this year.