Johannesburg City Public Library to partially reopen in February
Despite the good news, questions remain unanswered about its closure four years ago.
The Johannesburg City Public Library is set to partially reopen at the end of February. Photo: X/JDA_Joburg
John Perlman chats with Daily Maverick Associate Editor Ferial Haffajee, and Flo Bird, Honorary Life President of the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation.
Listen below:
The Johannesburg City Public Library is set for a phased reopening at the end of February.
Residents have been unable to access the library which holds over 1.5 million books and provides free internet access.
The City says the library will be fully operational by mid-year after upgrades have been completed.
Bird says there does not appear to be any structural changes made to the library and questions about its initial closure remain unanswered.
“They closed the library. There was no proper statement at any stage of why they were closing it. They didn’t make any sort of effort to replace it or offer an alternative for the people, particularly the local community.”
– Flo Bird, Honorary Life President – Johannesburg Heritage Foundation
“When we went in there, there were still people in the library, there are security guards, etc... So, the counsellors' view that it is life-threatening to be in the library can’t be true and I think there are still many questions that are unanswered.”
– Ferial Haffajee, Associate Editor - The Daily Maverick
“For me, the big lesson I took from this library story was the vital importance of civil society keeping an eye.”
– Ferial Haffajee, Associate Editor - The Daily Maverick
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the discussion.