Reopen Joburg libraries on Saturdays, campaigners say, but challenges remain

Bookshelf at Joburg City Library. Picture: Gallo Images/Lubabalo Lesolle Long gone are the good old days of picking up a plastic-sleeved covered book or sitting in a quiet corner to scribble homework down on a Saturday. Joburgers have been denied Saturday library access since June 2022.

Campaigners, through a growing public petition, are demanding the return of weekend hours. The Joburg Crisis Alliance (JCA) has collected 670 signatures for the petition, saying Saturday closures strip working people, students and families of the one day many can visit libraries for study space, computers, free Wi‑Fi and community programmes. “For many residents, Saturdays are the only day they can visit a library,” the alliance says, calling weekend access essential for borrowing books, doing research, attending literacy programmes and using safe, free public space.

“Libraries are a service, not a luxury,” says Flo Bird, honorary life chairperson for the campaign. Bird and other organisers argue that weekday‑only hours effectively exclude ratepayers who cannot visit during normal working hours, denying them access to services they pay for and widening inequality at a time when literacy and digital access remain national priorities. “Parents who brought their kids in to exchange books during Mandela Day said it clearly: Saturdays are convenient and necessary,” JCA’s Nokuthula Khwela toldThe Citizen.

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“Personally, I know the only time I would be able to go to a library is over the weekend, and I prefer not to have to buy books. “Currently my solution is to buy secondhand, but it would be great to have better access to libraries for this purpose,” said Chloe Smith, a library user. “The JCA sees the petition as but one lever of pressure. The JCA has shown in the past that when the City refuses to listen, there are many ways to get their attention,” she said.

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