Montlands librarian bids farewell after more than three decades

BECOMING a librarian may have happened by chance, but it was one of the best decisions for Lionel Reddy, who recently retired after more than three decades.

Reddy, 61, of Chatsworth, joined Montlands Library situated at Montclair Mall in 1996.

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However, his journey into the world of literature started after completing his Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Durban-Westville.

“Becoming a librarian was by chance. While I had wanted to further my degree, I was not sure what career path I wanted to follow. It was in April 1985, when the Moorton Library in Chatsworth opened its doors, that I started working as a library assistant.

“During those few weeks, I enjoyed what I was doing and thought why not turn it into a career. I went back to university and obtained my degree in Bibliography. I was appointed as the librarian at Moorton Library in 1987,” he said.

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Reddy said he decided to take up the position at Montlands Library a few years later.

“I had actually wanted my children to attend a primary school in the area, however, at that time you had to either live or work in the area for your child to be enrolled. It was my luck that they were in fact looking for a librarian. I applied and was successful, and as they say, ‘the rest is history’. I have loved every bit of my time spent at the library for over 26 years,” he said.

Reddy said some of the highlights of his career were the positive changes he was instrumental in making.

“It was post apartheid when I joined and I was able to make some changes in the library to cater for the new generation of people who were in the community, most of whom were studying. We had to realign and adjust the library to suit their needs, and I think we did pretty well in that aspect.

“We opened up a reference library which was non-existent when I arrived. Further to this, and prior to my arrival, it was a predominantly lending library and not frequented by children, so we opened a junior section. We were also able to provide internet access after we received a generous donation of 15 computers. We were very proud of that,” he said.

Reddy said one of the saddest moments was when the library was robbed and vandalised during the unrest and looting in 2021.

“I still remember that call that they had broken into the library and it had been destroyed and the computers stolen. I was devastated. It took us five months to restore the place, but we had not been able to replace all the computers, so we only have four,” he said.

Reddy said his fervent wish was to see more people, especially children, visiting libraries.
“Sadly, libraries are not utilised as they were previously. My wish is for more children to spend more time reading books, and for parents to encourage them to do so.

“Spend a few hours in the library and see the benefits. My motto has always been, ‘there is no substitute for reading and education. It is the backbone to everything in life’. People who read widely would tell you that there is so much of knowledge you gain from reading,” he said.

Reddy said now that he is retired he intends on travelling more, spending time on the golf course with his family.

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