CoJ Libraries in the running for an international award

With complaints constantly flooding in about the municipality and the state of our country, good news is always welcomed.

One of the most important rights in any person’s life is education. Places that promote education, studying and the importance of reading and writing are imperative to educating current and future generations. One of the things that the City of Johannesburg can be most proud of is its libraries, especially now.

On 19 February it was announced that the City of Johannesburg libraries have been nominated for the London Book Fair International Excellence Awards 2020. Our libraries have been short-listed for the Library of the Year Award.

The CoJ Libraries (representing South Africa) are up against the Maadi Public Library from Egypt, and the Shanghai Library from China.

Roodepoort has several libraries with a wide range of books and a comfortable environment to promote reading and learning.

• Wilro Park Library – Mimosa Street, Wilro Park, Roodepoort

• Witpoortjie Library – 22 Payne Street, Witpoortjie, Roodepoort

• Roodepoort Library – Corner of Berlandina and Hodgson Streets, Roodepoort

• Roodepoort Community Library – Hodgson Street, Roodepoort CBD

• Florida Library – Corner of Church Street and 3rd Avenue, Florida

• Struben’s Valley Library – Fredenharry Road, Little Falls

• Weltevreden Park Library – 1203 Fern Road, Weltevreden Park

• Horizon View Library – Horizon Shopping Centre, Crane Avenue, Horizon View

• Cosmo City Library – Corner of South Africa Drive and Angola Avenue, Cosmo City

The London Book fair is an annual book-publishing trade fair that acts as a global marketplace for rights negotiation, as well as the sale and distribution of content in the print, audio, TV, film, and digital industries. This famous international awards ceremony has seen over 50 nations receive recognition in the literary field.

The City of Johannesburg Library submission was largely based on the eLearning programme and the City’s aim to improve literacy in Johannesburg.

A number of libraries within the City have done outstanding work in implementing eLearning programmes. These libraries work with limited resources yet continue with their attempts to introduce technology-based literacy development skills such as reading and writing.

These eLearning programmes have helped change the lives of thousands of children with the Mobile Literacy Reading and Story Development programme, which has been operational since 2017.

The City has collaborated with non-government organisations (NGOs) and initiated various gamification activities involving reading and writing. The gamification of learning introduces aspects of games and competitions to keep learners engaged and add some enjoyment to the learning process. It is used as a way to inspire learners to continue learning.

In addition to this, the City has expanded the programme with the introduction of various reading apps that children can use on tablets or smartphones to gain access to reading material. They can even create their own stories.

The awards will run from 9 to 15 March and will be held at the Pergola Olympia in London.