Maseipati Tsotsotso
The City of Johannesburg is proud to mark a major milestone in its literary and cultural history — the Johannesburg City Library (JCL) celebrates its 90th anniversary on Wednesday, 6 August 2025. This landmark occasion honours one of Johannesburg’s oldest buildings, a true “treasure of the mind”.
To commemorate this historic event, the City’s Community Development department, through Library Information Services (LIS), will host an official reopening ceremony on Saturday, 9 August 2025, coinciding with National Women’s Day. The celebration will include the ceremonial cutting of the 90th birthday cake by Executive Mayor Cllr Dada Morero and MMC for Community Development Cllr Tebogo Nkokou.
Over the decades, the Johannesburg City Library has undergone multiple renovations, reflecting the City’s ongoing commitment to preserving its heritage and promoting access to knowledge for all.
Opened in 1935, the JCL replaced earlier library structures — the first being a modest corrugated iron building opened in 1893 on Kerk Street, followed by a more refined double-storey brick-and-iron building in 1898. Notably, in 1974, JCL became one of the first public libraries in South Africa to allow access to all races, ending racial segregation in its reading rooms.
“This 90-year celebration is not just about bricks and mortar,” said MMC Nkokou. “It’s about the power of books to expand our minds and the freedom to learn. With materials dating back more than a century, the library is a living archive of Joburg’s intellectual and cultural evolution.”
Reopening on Women’s Day adds special significance, as the City also pays tribute to the library’s first female librarian — a pioneering figure in a male-dominated profession.
“We should treat our minds like trees and water them with the knowledge found in books,” MMC Nkokou added.
