Construction has officially started on a R40 million library for Dunoon.
Dunoon ward councillor Lubabalo Makeleni and JP Smith, the mayoral committee member for safety and security; and social services, were at the sod-turning ceremony on Wednesday March 15. Co-funded by the City of Cape Town and the provincial government, the library is a first for Dunoon. It will be built near the community centre in Waxberry Street.
The three-storey facility will include a meeting room for the community, a study area and access to SmartCape online resources.
The building’s air-conditioning system will use minimal energy; vertical green walls will be able to hold growing plants or herbs and vegetables; and an external screen will permit outdoor viewing of movies or seminars. A 25 000-litre tank under the parking lot will collect rainwater to be used for irrigation and flushing toilets.
Mr Smith said he was excited about the promise the new development held not only for the environment but for the residents of Dunoon.
“Gone are the days of four walls and a few windows. This design is out-of-the-box and a very strong indicator that libraries have a place in a world where technology dominates.”
He urged the community to support the contractor so the project could be completed as soon as possible. Mr Makeleni said the community was 100 percent behind the project, which involved mostly local labour.
“I am over the moon about the library. This will be the first library in Dunoon, and its been a long time coming.”
Sixty percent of the books would be in English, 30 percent in Xhosa and 10 percent in Afrikaans.
Area north mini mayor Suzette Little said libraries “expand horizons in a way that nothing else can”.
They were not just places of learning, but also social hubs and, with the inclusion of internet facilities, windows on the world.
“I am immensely proud that we’re finally at the point where we can break ground on yet another library for the residents of Cape Town,” she said.
The library is expected to be complete by the middle of next year.
