Share this article

​The City of Joburg is committed to ensuring the health and safety of workers and visitors to its facilities. 

The River Park Library is temporarily closed to the public from Wednesday 07 March 2018 due to a water shortage caused by a broken pipe behind the library.

The decision to close the library was taken because it was assessed that the lack of water in the library meant that the library did not meet the Occupational Health and Safety standards that are necessary for the occupation of any facility. The library is therefore deemed to be unhygienic both for staff and the public. As a City, we could not expose our staff and residents to those unhygienic conditions.  

The Community Development Department is working tirelessly to ensure that the broken pipe is repaired, and water restored to the library in the shortest possible time to allow residents the opportunity to access the library for all their needs.

Libraries are no longer only used as places to collect books and other reading materials. Libraries now offer reading programmes for adults and children, and internet facilities to bridge the digital divide, especially for the poorest and most vulnerable residents of the City. 

Residents of River Park are encouraged to use the following nearby libraries whilst the library is being attended to:
Alexandra 3rd and 8th Avenue; and 
Sandringham Library.

I would like to apologise for the inconvenience and the disruption of library and information services to the people of River Park during this time. As a City, we are committed to offering services in a manner that assures meaningful redress. The closure is unfortunate, but the health and safety of our staff and residents is a priority. We will do our best to resolve this issue as soon as it is safely possible.

Issued by:
Councillor Nonhlanhla Sifumba
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Community Development
City of Joburg

For media enquiries please contact:
Ben Ramela (Deputy Director: Library and Information Services)
Tel: (011) 226 0952 or Cell: 082 467 9550 
Email: benr@joburg.org.za​​