The City of Cape Town has promised to hold information sessions regarding the closing of the Tygervalley Library.
“An information session will take place in the coming weeks with the community. Once details have been confirmed, it will be communicated,” Patricia van der Ross, Mayco member for community services and health, says.
When this will be remains unknown.
The City has so far remained relatively mum on the decision to close the library, which has been housed in the Tygervalley Shopping Centre for the past 30 years.
TygerBurger reported earlier this year (“Library closure after 30 years shocks,” 12 January) how the sudden announcement of the closure of the library drew wide-spread shock.
The decision to close the library was ratified by City Council on 15 December last year after a report was submitted in September. An informed source says the council’s decision and the report itself weren’t common knowledge for those not in the know of the City’s workings, or who regularly comb through council documents.
“Staff were told the week before Christmas. What a shameful way to treat loyal staff,” the source says.
Asked about this, Van der Ross doesn’t confirm or deny this: “The affected staff were informed in December of the Mayco recommendation submitted to the Council meeting of 15 December 2021, i.e. that the external leases for Tygervalley and Plumstead not be renewed upon expiry.”
She says the “key factor” in making the decision is to reduce external leases and this decision was made by council.
Over 900 library users have signed an online petition asking the City to rethink its decision. On Facebook, many users have slammed the decision, especially since the library is one of the 10 busiest libraries out of the City’s 102 libraries.
The library is set to close at the end of April.
