Strand Library celebrates a page-turning 120 years of bookish service to the community!
The City of Cape Town facility is one of two local libraries which have crossed the 120-year threshold. Somerset West Library is listed among 12 other “grand dames”, having served as a learning resource and bookworm’s delight for over 128 years.
“Strand Library joins an elite group of facilities that have reached this milestone. 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. Strand Library is about more than the books and other material. It’s a collection and reflection of history, and an important social meeting point,” said Mayco member for community services and health, Councillor Patricia van der Ross.
Strand Library started as a subscription library and opened its doors on 20 December 1904 in a room in the Strand Town Hall. Within 20 years, a bigger library was needed due to growth in membership and a new library was built in Wesley Street and officially opened on 3 September 1924. 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 29 August 1974.
The library’s current membership is at 5 450 and annual circulation is 185 357 items. This 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, and international writers Lucinda Riley and Colleen Hoover. Recipe books are popular non-fiction items.
Some of the library’s highlights include:
- In 2022, Strand Library partnered with Tape Aids and the talking books service was launched for the avid reader, 1 000 Stories Before School was launched the same year and introduced to the community through outreach programmes to the local clinics.
- 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 Strand Library has since won first runner up in the Innovation Category at the LIS Service Recognition Awards.
- Strand Library won the Customer Service Award at the LIS Service Recognition Awards in 2024.
- Strand Library was the first runner up for the Innovation Award at the LIS Service Recognition Awards in 2024.
Other grand dames are: Woodstock (142), Mowbray (137), Claremont (129), Rondebosch (128), Wynberg (128), Observatory (126), Sea Point (125), and Muizenberg (124).
