Following our successful protest action outside the Johannesburg City Library (JCL) on 18 May 2024, we arranged a meeting with the City of Johannesburg (COJ) Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Community Development, Cllr L Magwentshu, to hand over the petition and collected signatures. This engagement took place on 12 June 2024.
We would like to thank the MMC and his team who made themselves available for the meeting, and we enjoyed an honest and constructive discussion. We would also like to thank everyone who supported our petition and protest action – whether in person or on-line. Your on-going support is most important and much appreciated. Clearly, public libraries are a precious communal resource and we are gratified that so many people have raised their voices in defence of the JCL.
In response to our meeting with the MMC, we have issued a new statement that outlines the latest developments and our plans for future action. You can read the statement below. We have also attached the latest media release received from the COJ, dated 24 May 2024.
Finally, we have included a scan of the booklet released to commemorate the re-opening of the library following extensive renovations funded by the COJ and the Carnegie Foundation in 2012, just 10 years ago. The booklet contains many photographs of this beautiful facility and lots of useful information about the collections contained therein. We are reproducing this booklet in the interest of public access and no copyright infringement is intended.
The JHF and JCA remains committed to working with the Department of Community Development and associated agencies to get the Johannesburg City Library re-opened as soon as possible.
For additional information about the closure of the JCL, click here.