Birchleigh Library limited by lack of internet

Birchleigh Library has no internet since May and because of this, the facility cannot render a full list of services to the community.

Some staff have also been using their private phones to make work-related calls because the library’s landline has been down.

Friends of the Library committee member and secretary of Leerskring, Susan Wilsenach, said many of the facility’s books have been lost because librarians cannot access the system and see which books have not been returned.
“They are always offline and cannot look for books on the system.

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“We have to come here physically and go through the shelves. People take advantage of that and steal an incredible number of books,” she said.

Wilsenach added she did not understand how the librarians were expected to do their jobs properly without the internet.

“It is not fair that librarians have to go out of their way and sometimes use their own recourses to get their job done.”

She added that Birchleigh Library users often look for books at other libraries around Kempton Park because of consistent issues.

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Additionally, the library has not received any new books since 2020.

The library is not only used by learners and book clubs but also by eager job seekers.

Job seekers don’t pay a fee to use the internet at the library, which is a major convenience for them. These job seekers now have to make use of internet cafes.

“The City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) needs to make a plan because this is a public space and we pay a lot of taxes and it should not be so difficult for them to keep the internet going.”

The Kempton Express caught up with a library user, James Tebele.

“I’m a regular user of this library because it is a conducive environment. One of the most frustrating experiences in the last six months is the unreliable internet access.

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“This affects me as a student because it means I cannot research material for my assignments,” he said.

He added other library users such as job seekers, are affected by this as they cannot look for jobs online and other users use it for general information.

“We would like the CoE to attend to this matter and prioritise it because the internet is an important resource.

“Having a library that is not reliable and fully functional is a problem.”

The Kempton Express sent an enquiry for comment to the CoE on October 20, requesting comment for October 23.
By the time of going to print, no comment was received.