The past still lingers for those who went to the library on weekends. Here's why it's not the case anymore.
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.
Who loses out
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 told The Citizen.
“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 pressure is on
The petition is not the only step, said Khwela.
“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.
Having engaged directly with the City’s Library Department, the alliance says the petition will be formally presented to council alongside evidence of public support and calls for a phased return of Saturday services.
Labour deals, budgets and phased plans
The City of Johannesburg (CoJ) told The Citizen that it understands why libraries are the bread and butter of literacy and digital inclusion, but says operational realities explain the current weekday‑only schedule.
Libraries currently operate Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm, after an agreement signed through labour negotiations in November 2018 for standardised five‑day workweeks in some municipal departments
Reintroducing Saturday hours involves more labour negotiations, budget constraints and compliance with employment laws, the City said.
However, Bird argued that “there are practical operational solutions that could progressively restore Saturday services.”
If a middle ground was achieved, the City says it would include staggered shifts, partnerships with community groups such as ‘Friends of the Library’, and available funding. But they emphasised that any rollout will depend on resolving labour agreements and securing resources.
JCA shared the same sentiment, saying restoration can happen without upending labour agreements.
