At every desk in this handsome multilevel library (first opened in 1935 and designed by John Perry in an Italianate style) sit people reading and working at computers. This was the first South African public library to admit all races in 1974. There's usually an art exhibition on the top floor.
Outside stands Democracy is Dialogue by Lawrence Lemaona. This striking statue of a black woman throwing a petrol bomb honours women as drivers of social change.