City of Cape Town libraries' segregated history: 1952-1972

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Date

2015

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

University of KwaZulu-Natal

Abstract

This article investigates the history and development of the Cape Town City Libraries (CTCL) from 1952-1972 and examines the effect of apartheid legislation on establishing a public library system. Legislation introduced by the National Party enforced segregation which brought CTCL into conflict with library philosophy. This legislation determined who the CTCL could serve and where they could serve them. The findings show that CTCL extended the library service to more people and increased the number of facilities, membership and circulation but in a segregated manner. CTCL was not able to meet the library philosophy of free access to all.

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Keywords

Segregation, Apartheid, Libraries, Cape Town

Citation

Laishley, K. & Zinn, S. (2015). City of Cape Town libraries' segregated history: 1952-1972. Innovation, 50: 3-9