Joburg Libraries clinch an innovation award

The City of Johannesburg municipality is home to 89 public libraries, nine of which are in the greater Roodepoort area. As with most other businesses and municipal entities, libraries were closed when the hard lockdown hit in March 2020.

Nearly a year later, libraries have still not resumed their full services for more than a few days. Limited services were offered towards the end of 2020, but due to the adjusted Level 3 regulations, public libraries are only open for the returning of books.

Joburg Libraries has, however, been utilising its various social media pages (specifically Facebook) to provide remote digital library services. According to the MMC for Community Development, Margaret Arnolds, librarians were challenged to be creative and think outside the box in order to make the digital system as affective as possible, and they definitely took on the challenge. Councillor Arnolds commended the various City Librarians for using their personal resources to complete this task, saying that their actions show dedication to serving their communities.

The digital system saw local libraries use their Facebook pages to share various video series aimed at assisting with reading development, personal development, and e-learning, among other things. The Facebook Digital Video Series is the reason that the City’s Directorate of Libraries was able to win the 2020 Public Library Innovation Award.

The award was granted by an international non-profit organisation called Electronic Information for Libraries (EIFL) that works closely with libraries in developing countries. “EIFL works with libraries to enable access to knowledge for education, learning, research and sustainable community development,” explained the MMC.

While councillor Arnolds said that the librarians were the true heroes behind the award win, she dedicated the award to the library users in the City. “You are our priority; you matter,” she said.

The MMC concluded her statement by saying that the award bodes well for the City’s strategy to evolve into a smart, digital City. “Our strategy is to encourage tech innovations and new ways of providing library services post-Covid-19.”

The digital video series and any library-related information can be found on the Joburg Libraries Facebook page @JoburgLibraries.