According to Paul Willemburg, the spokesperson for Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation, the tearing of library book pages by library users is a serious challenge facing local libraries.
Willemburg said this during his visit to the River Park Library on 14 November.
“The most targeted section are reference and academic books,” said Willemburg.
The visit to the library formed part of the DA Gauteng Library Campaign.
Willemburg said he was shocked with what he has discovered there.
The campaign was aimed at assessing the state of the infrastructure, access to internet, availability of resources and service delivery in libraries across the province.
“The library books are mostly being damaged by students who are doing research and school projects.
“Those who tear the pages are disadvantaging the entire community as other library users are unable to make use of these resources. This is completely unacceptable and we urge the perpetrators to refrain from this act.”
He urged parents to educate their children to value books as they provide vital information which assists academic studies.
“This library is, however, well managed by the dedicated staff which sees more than 5 000 users per month.”
The Wi-Fi connection is provided by the City of Joburg for those wanting to access internet.
“The DA believes that libraries are very crucial for studying, reading and for those looking for job opportunities.”
In instances where there were challenges in the libraries, Willemburg said they alerted the Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation MEC, Faith Mazibuko to intervene.
He said it is the responsibility of the department to ensure that all communities in Gauteng have access to well-resourced library facilities.
