Maryam Nwabisa Monakali-The Awakening of Wisdom

The Awakening of Wisdom

 The Johannesburg City Library

The City of Johannesburg library is one of the city's heritage landmarks that was established as a library in 1935. This was the first library to be opened to all races in South Africa and provided access to hard copy resources material which was one of the main forms in which research could be done.Today the library has undergone a R68 million face lift that has accommodated a mixture of history and and our modern  times,with the addition of a glassed 3rd floor enclosure to house design exhibitions. This library offers a choice of different media sources like books, the Internet, DVDs, Cd's, music sheets and periodicals, making it a popular place for young people to go to explore and learn about their futures and pasts. 

 

The Johannesburg City Library, which is on President, Market and Saure street, is one that is positioned in a contradictory location. The CBD of Johannesburg is an area that is booming with activities seeming as it is a business district where you find a variety of activities, transport and people moving about on this street.All this movement exerts a considerable amount of noise that floats around the library precinct. this can act as a huge distraction to the users of this space.The exterior seating brings about a little confusion to me because of all the movement around you.With people walking through this precinct, around it,cars,taxis,vendors,all this would personally distract me because my eyes would want to engage in more than one observation.But for those keen on reading on site there is an option of seating inside the library where the noise levels do decrease a considerable amount, and there is a concentrated activity taking place, which is reading, so there is no distraction of movement. For users who want an absolutely quiet precinct surrounded by a calm environment, which you would associate with a library,will have to result in lending out a book and seeking for this environment elsewhere.

Even though the serene setting you would associate with a library does not comply with that of the Johannesburg City Library, it is still an area of huge significance.It is accessed by a range of racial groups,ages,sexes, and identities, creating a social scene where class positioning is not of importance   ( Marx, 1848).What is significant is the one goal all users are looking to achieve,"The future which belongs to those who prepare for it"(Ralph Waldo Emerson). For those who would like yo be in "IT", the heart of the city, are provided with an ample amount of seating outside in the library precinct( Cullen, G., 1961).Trees in the precinct are at the same height which shows how these where planted at the same time for a purpose.They provide shade and a natural serenity in this chaotic location.

 This library is a landmark in the city of Johannesburg that is a a very crucial step in Awakening Wisdom in South Africa, because at the end of he day "the objective of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives" (Robert Maynard Hutchins).