Join the Friends on a conducted tour of the National Library of South Africa, 5 Queen Victoria Street, with Najwa Hendrickse, Manager of Information Access Services Programme. Najwa will introduce some of the interesting material that is hidden, but accessible. This includes the reference section, reading room and special collections.


The National Library of South Africa (NLSA) is the custodian of South Africa’s collective national heritage materials and the national depository of published output materials in the country. The NLSA is mandated by the National Library of South Africa Act 92 of 1998 to collect and preserve published documents and make them accessible to all; ensuring that knowledge is not lost to posterity. The National Library of South Africa, as we know it today, was formed on 1 November 1999 as a result of the amalgamation of the two former national libraries: the South African
Library in Cape Town and the State Library in Pretoria. The collections of the NLSA contain a wealth of information, including rare manuscripts, books published in South Africa, periodicals, government publications, official foreign publications, maps, technical reports, Africana, and newspapers.

This is our opportunity to see this national treasure.