Watch: A stroll through our local library – a ‘world’ that offers so much
Senior citizens (60 years and older) are the biggest bookworms in Boksburg.
National Library Week started on March 19 under the theme “Libraries: Heart of the Community”.
The Advertiser recently visited the Boksburg Public Library and found it offers so much more than just pages between your fingers.
This library is a big, comfortable space that houses thousands of books that allow the community to enrich their minds, build on their knowledge or just escape into another world, inside a book.
Senior librarian Jacky Moekoa has been working at the Boksburg library for the past 10 years.
“I respond to community information needs as they arise,” she said.
“My duties, among others, include collection development and management, staff development, supervision, assets control and attending to building maintenance requirements,” she explained.
Moekoa influences and monitors implementation of council policies on library services as well as the implementation of the operational budget.
Although there are hundreds of people using the library daily, it is a space filled with nothing other than peace and quiet.
“There are roughly 3 500 members registered on our database, of which 2 600 are adults, 177 are young adults and teens, 600 minors and nine are educational organisations,” Moekoa said.
““Our members span a wide diversity of ages and cultures. There are no age restrictions on membership, so parents can apply for membership of children from birth.”
According to Moekoa, the Gauteng Provincial Government Library Services has a flagship programme named “Born To Read” which is implemented at all libraries in Gauteng, to promote reading for children from the pregnancy stage.
“Those who are unable to visit the library themselves are profiled as ‘homebound’ users.”
Besides the books, there are other facilities available at the library for the community to enjoy, such as free Wifi and internet access, photocopying, scanning and fax facilities.
- Schools
The library also has an auditorium which community members make use of for various programmes at an affordable fee, in line with council tariffs.
A toy library service is also operational in the children’s section.
“The Boksburg library takes library education very seriously. For this reason, there are school visits about twice a week, usually on a Thursday morning, where learners come to experience the library and learn about the basic rules and how to borrow a book from the library.”
About 20 Grade One and Grade R learners from an Ekurhuleni Primary School paid a library orientation visit to the facility on March 15.
The library assistants, Felicity Pillay and Iris Ntuli, showed the youngsters around in the library and explained to them how important it is to look after books and treat them with the necessary respect and care.
Basic tips, such as not ripping out pages of library books, not drawing in them or eating and drinking while reading a book, were explained while the learners also had the opportunity to play with educational toys.
“A lot of parents bring their children here over the weekend,” said Moekoa.
“The children play in the toy room for hours and the parents have time to relax and read a book,” said Moekoa.
- Sections
The library consists of three sections – the adult section, with audio books included, the children section with toys and drawings and the reference section with internet and study cubicles.
The books in the adult and children section rotate and can be taken out for two weeks. The books in the reference section, however, can only be used in the library.
- Services
The library is also involved in several community projects.
“We have a working relationship with Boksburg Correctional Services in terms of loaning books out for inmates who are studying,” Moekoa said.
Our old age homes also receive specialised services as they access more items for an extended period.
“We do Early Childhood Development programmes, such as storytelling, with local nursery schools as well as school programmes, such as Spelling Bee and Read Aloud.”
According to Moekoa, there are daily internal users who use different facilities in the library, such as the study area, Wifi, internet kiosks, newspaper archives and community information enquiries.
“There are regular bookworms who come for their weekly fix of books like clockwork,” said Moekoa.
She added there has been a decline in the number of physical circulations of books as library users can now access the overdrive (e-resource) facility to borrow items online.
“The use of the library for other purposes hasn’t declined though. The library still circulates 150 000 items annually, on average. Based on the population of Ekurhuleni, the library would like to reach more community members in order to prevent and reduce the level of illiteracy in the region.
“We encourage all residents of Boksburg to visit the library as often as possible. There are thousands of books of different genres and topics, in English, Afrikaans and many other official languages, to pick and choose from.
“It is free and easy to brighten your world and widen your horizons by making use of the services offered at the library,” Moekoa concluded.
How to become a member of the Boksburg library:
• You must be a resident of Ekurhuleni.
• Documents required: ID/smart card/passport/birth certificate and proof of residence.
As part of celebrating libraries this week, the Ekurhuleni metro is granting library users an opportunity to return those long overdue books without paying a penalty. No questions asked, no penalties.
So, what are you waiting for? Knowledge is power and there are years of knowledge, ample magic and beautifully-imagined people and places to be discovered between the pages of the books at the Boksburg library.
Visit the library on the corner of Trichardts Road and Voortrekker Street, in Boksburg CBD, or contact the library on 011 999 5402.
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