“I’m going down to Plumstead Library soon. I wish I could take a bottle of champagne with me.”
So said a joyous Toni Balona, secretary of the Friends of Plumstead Library, when asked what her response was to a City of Cape Town media statement that the public library would remain open.
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Last week, the City’s Library and Information Services announced that new lease agreements would ensure that the Plumstead and Tygervalley libraries continued to provide services to residents.
At the beginning of last year, People’s Post reported that the City had decided to delimit all external leases “due to the Covid-19 pandemic’s significant negative impact on revenue”.
Because Plumstead and Tygervalley libraries were located in malls with an external lease each, Council on 15 December 2021 made a decision not to renew the leases of these two libraries.
Community members who support and use Plumstead Library reacted with outrage at the news of its pending closure.
One of the loudest voices among them was that of Balona. Having drawn up a petition to “save our library”, the 85-year-old was often seen walking down Main Road or standing outside local shopping centres, asking residents for their signature.
With the assistance of the African National Congress (ANC) in Ward 63, the Friends also organised several pickets on the Main Road in Plumstead; the last being on Mandela Day, Monday 18 July, last year
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Speaking to People’s Post last week, Balona said that they got nearly 2 000 signatures. She said they submitted the petition to the City in January.
“We never knew what happened to them. We didn’t know what was happening. And now here we are. Thank God.”
She says the possibility of the library remaining open had been in the air.
“We were hoping, but there was no definite decision for a while. It has been a long worrying point, emotionally as well. We didn’t know where we were, we didn’t know if we should buy books. We lost a few patrons, I hope they come back now.”
Asked where she and her fellow Friends found the motivation to keep on going, Balona said the library needed to remain open for the community’s children.
“We support all the schools in the area here. They come to the library, develop an interest in books, and then there is the library’s staff who deal with them. We can’t take that away from them. We have such plans for programmes for the future, more with the children, and, of course, all the people in the area. None of us can afford to go out and buy books, and the library supplies us.”
Balona, who got quite ill in the past two months, said it had been a stressful experience.
“I just found people who work in municipalities, the powers that be, in the beginning, they weren’t interested until we did the protest, until we made them aware, it was on the news, KykNET came into it – and they woke up to it – that woke people up to what was happening. That support we needed, and we got it.”
She thanked every resident who signed the petition as well as Pick n Pay and the neighbourhood shops for allowing her to stand at their premises.
She says it is them, and the library staff, who deserve the kudos. “I might be 85, but I have the energy of a 25-year-old. I don’t believe I am that age. I am very happy to be active and involved. I don’t want to sit at home and do nothing. So, I thought while I still have the drive, while I still have it, let me use it – and the staff at the library is incredible,” said Balona.
The new lease agreements will start on Saturday 1 July and will be valid for two years.
According to the City, “the decision was reviewed in part due to stakeholder feedback, as well as robust negotiations with the property management teams of both businesses”.
Patricia van der Ross, Mayco member for community services and health, said the City had various engagements with interested parties following requests to retain the services on offer by the two libraries.
“Both libraries are important knowledge centres visited frequently by patrons and residents. The decision to enter into a two-year lease agreement is a testament to the City’s commitment to service delivery,” she said.
