The Elsies River Library is very short-staffed.  The SmartCape facility at this library is used by scholars and students conducting research, unemployed people who type their CVs and apply for jobs online, and small business owners who come in to check their email.  Younger children aged between 7-13 years also crowd the PCs, playing online games.

We talked with Altino Pypers, the librarian.  He told us that SmartCape is very well used at the Elsies River Library.  He said that although there are Internet cafes in Elsies River, not everyone can afford to travel to them.  SmartCape is free and accessible to all registered users.  Altino's opinion is that the SmartCape project was and still is a positive initiative from the City Of Cape Town.  He said, "SmartCape bridges the gap between rich and poor people".

The opening hours for Elsies River Library are:

Monday to Thursday : 10:00am-17:30pm

Friday                        : 10:00am-17:00pm

Saturday                    : 09:00am-13:00pm

The library is at the Civic Centre on Halt Road in Elsies River.  The telephone number is 021 936 8816.