Cape Town: Strand Library celebrates 120 years of service, with more than 5,450 members and 185,357 items, circulated annually, as it remains an essential hub in the community.
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Community Services and Health – Councillor Patricia Van der Ross said that Strand Library joins an elite group of facilities that have reached the milestone.
She added that it has been a beacon of hope and knowledge in the area and continues to provide an essential service to residents in the surrounding suburbs of Cape Town.
The Strand Library is all about more than books and other material. It’s a collection and reflection of history, which is an important social meeting point, according to Ross.
Strand Library started as a subscription library and opened on December 20, 1904, in a room in the Strand Town Hall. At that time, there was a need of bigger library, in 20 years, due to growth in membership and a new library was built in Wesley Street and officially got opened on September 03, 1924.
Back in 1972, the municipality began with the building of the new library on the corner of Mills and Piet Retief streets and decided to join the Cape Provincial Library Service. The new library was a free municipal service and officially opened on August 29, 1974.
Currently, 5,450 have the membership of the library and annual circulation is 185,357 items. It is the fourth highest circulation out of the City’s 102 libraries.
Some of the most popular local fiction authors are locals Rudie van Rensburg and Christelle Wessels, as well as the international writers Lucinda Riley and Colleen Hoover. Whereas, recipe books are popular non-fiction items.
Some of the latest highlights of the library includes; in 2022 Strand Library partnered with Tape Aids and the talking books service was launched for the avid reader. 1000 Stories Before School was launched the same year and introduced to the community through outreach programmes to the local clinics.
Last year in 2023, Strand Library ventured into a partnership with Hendrik Louw Primary School, after the school library closed down. There are weekly class visits to the library and since then, Strand Library has won first runner up in the Innovation Category at the LIS Service Recognition Awards.
Notably, Strand Library also won the Customer Service Award at the LIS Service Recognition Awards in 2024. It also stood as the first runner up for the Innovation Award at the LIS Service Recognition Awards in 2024.