PORT ELIZABETH LIBRARY CLOSED

Port Elizabeth‘s Main Library will be closed from 10 April 2009 for about six months for renovations. The Victorian-era landmark building has suffered from rising damp caused by underground water seepage. Walls have mould. The roof will also be repaired. The library has about 250 000 books, which will have to be moved during the building work.

OUR NEW NATIONAL LIBRARY

The new National Library in Pretoria was built with R374-million and involved 15 architects. The library was officially opened on 01 Aug 2008 by Pres. Thabo MBEKI. The state-of-the-art library opens its doors to the public on Monday (04 August). It is at the corner of Proes and Andries Streets, and is equipped with many computers, an Internet café and a training room. The building replaces the old State Library which was at the corner of Andries and Vermeulen Streets. The new library can accommodate up to 1600 people compared to the old one that could only accommodate 130. Now all the material is housed in one building. Previously, about two-thirds of the library's material was kept in storage in Pretoria West. The library's oldest newspapers date to the early 1850s. The library has a entry control system that identifies visitors by fingerprints. The four-storey library has a collection of over three million - including books, newspapers, CDs and DVDs. Members of the public needed only to register for membership to access the library.