In this issue:
In
hierdie uitgawe:
|
DLS
Kalender / Calendar

October/Oktober - December/Desember
|
October / Oktober
Service
Delivery / Transport / Marine / Astronomy /
International
Breast Cancer / Social Development / Eye Care /
Mental Health
Month
|
1 |
National Inherited Disorders Day
International Day for Older Persons
International Music Day
World Habitat Day
World Vegetarian Day |
2 |
International Day of Non-Violence
World Smile Day
World Farm
Animal Day |
3 |
World Temperance Day |
3-11 |
UP Oktober reses / October recess |
4 |
World
Animal Day |
4-10 |
UN World
Space week 2015 |
5 |
World Teacher's Day |
5-11 |
Weedbuster Week |
5 |
UP DLS Exco Meeting
World
Architecture Day |
8 |
International Day of Disaster Reduction |
9 |
Partnership against AIDS Anniversary
World Sight Day
World Post Day |
9-15 |
National Nutrition Week (SA) |
10 |
World Mental Health Day |
11 |
World Egg Day
World Hospice Palliative Care Day |
12 |
World Arthritis Day
National Bandana Day |
12-16 |
National Marine Week (SA) |
12-20 |
World Bone and Joint Week |
12 |
UP DLS Exco Meeting |
15 |
World Rural Women's Day
Global Hand washing Day
International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction
2015
National Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Day |
15-19 |
National Obesity Week |
16 |
Bosses Day
World Food Day (FAO)
International Credit Union Day 2015
World Spine
Day |
16 |
UP Dag vir Internasionale Studente /
UP International Students Day
International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
World Trauma Day |
19 19-23 |
UP DLS Exco Meeting
Open Access week |
20 |
World Osteoporosis Day
National Down Syndrome Day
|
20-26 |
International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week |
21 |
Faculty Library Managers Meeting
International Stuttering Awareness Day 2015
International Stammering Awareness Day 2015 |
22 |
Library Advisory Committee Meeting |
23 |
National Iodine Deficiency Disorder
Day |
24 |
World Polio Day
UN Disarmament Week
United Nations Day
World Development Information Day 2015 |
25 |
World Pasta Day |
28Oct-3Nov |
Stroke Week |
29 |
World Stroke Day
World Psoriasis Day 2015
International Internet Day |
30 |
Commemoration of African Food and Nutrition Security
Day |
31 |
World Savings Day |
November
is
Red Ribbon / Quality
Awareness
Month
|
1 |
World Vegan Day |
2 |
National Children's Day |
2 |
UP DLS Exco Meeting |
3 |
UP DLS Staff Meeting / Personeel -
vergadering |
5 |
UP Lesings sluit af vir kwartaal 4 &
semester 2 / UP Lectures end for quarter 4 and
semester 2 |
4-8 |
SADC Malaria Week |
4-10 |
National Cardiopumonary Resuscitation
(CPR) week |
6 |
International Day for Preventing the
Exploitation of Environment in War & Armed Conflict |
9-28 |
Eksamens van 3de en 4de kwartaal en
2de semestermodules / Examinatins of 3rd and 4th
quarter and 4th quarter and 2nd semester modules |
8 |
World Radiography Day |
8 |
SADC Malaria Day |
8 |
World Town Planning Day |
9 |
World Quality Day |
9 |
International Tongue Twister Day |
9 |
UP DLS Exco Meeting |
10 |
World Science Day for Peace and Development |
12 |
World Pneumonia Day |
13 |
World Kindness Day |
14 |
World Diabetes Day |
16 |
International Day for Tolerance |
16 |
UP DLS Exco Meeting |
17 |
International Students Day |
19 |
World Toilet Day |
19 |
World COPD Day |
19 |
International Men's Day |
20 |
Africa Industrialisation Day |
20 |
Universal Children's Day |
20 |
World Philosophy Day |
21 |
World Fisheries Day |
23 |
Exco Break away session |
21 |
World Hello Day |
21 |
World Television Day |
25 |
International Day for the Elimination of Violence
against Women |
25/11-10/12 |
16 Days of Activism on No Violence
Against Women and Children |
26 |
Library Strategic Forum Meeting |
27 |
UP DLS Year End Function |
29 |
Birding Big Day |
30/11 - 07/12 |
Hereksamens van 3de en 4de kwartaal
en 2de semester modules / Supplementary examinations
of 3rd and 4th quarter and 2nd semester modules |
30 |
UP DLS Exco Meeting |
30 |
International Computer Security Day |
December
/ Desember
is
Prevention of
Injuries /
Skin Cancer
Awareness (SunSmart)
Awareness
Month |
1 |
World AIDS
Day |
2 |
International Day for the Abolition of Slavery |
3 |
International Day
of People with Disability |
5 |
International Volunteers Day |
7 |
UPLS Exco Meeting |
7 |
Academic Year ends / Akademiese jaar
sluit af |
7 |
International Civil Aviation Day |
9 |
International Anti-Corruption Day |
|
World Patient Safety Day |
9 |
Skole sluit / Schools close |
10 |
International Human Rights Day |
11 |
International Mountain Day |
13 |
World Violin Day |
16 |
Versoeningsdag / Day of
Reconciliation |
18 |
International Migrants Day |
23 |
Universiteit sluit om 10:00 -
Aanvang van nuwe akademiese jaar 4
Januarie 2016 /
University closes at 10:00 - Academic
year commences January 4th, 2016 |
25 |
Kersdag/ Christmas Day |
26 |
Welwillendheidsdag / Day of Goodwill
|
31 |
Oujaarsdag / Old Years Day |
If you have any
feedback, regarding this newsletter, article ideas or
suggestions,
please contact
the editorial staff:

Indien jy enige
terugvoer, artikels,
voorstelle het
vir of oor hierdie nuusbrief,
kontak asseblief
die redaksie:
Elsabé Olivier
Articles/
Artikels
elsabé.olivier@up.ac.za
of / or
Diana Gerritsen
Design and
Layout /
Ontwerp en
Uitleg
diana.gerritsen@up.ac.za
Birthdays
May your birthday be filled with many
happy hours and your life with many happy birthdays.
Verjaarsdae
Mag jou verjaardag gevul word met baie
gelukkige ure en jou lewe met baie gelukkig verjaarsdae.
October/Oktober |
1 |
Lita Ferguson |
|
Lungani Khanyile |
|
Carike Schoeman |
2 |
Brenda Nsanzya |
3 |
Antoinette Lourens |
4 |
Sello Kgwebane |
|
Martha de Waal |
7 |
Estelle Grobler |
10 |
Linky Ntobo |
12 |
Elsabé Olivier |
16 |
Niel de Kock |
17 |
Tebogo Mogakane |
10 |
Kenny Tshukudu |
22 |
Anastasia Ntuli |
|
Clayton Coverdale |
23 |
Refiloe Matlatse |
26 |
Susan Marsh |
27 |
Patson Nyalungu |
30 |
Arthur Molefe |
November |
1 |
Samuel Hobyane |
2 |
Mart Muller |
|
Kataila Ramalibana |
5 |
Sophi Silinda |
7 |
Agnes Mogudi |
9 |
Sonja Delport |
11 |
Jeffrey Mashapa |
15 |
Carin Bezuidenhout |
16 |
Ernest Sefolo |
19 |
Junior Baloyi |
20 |
Diana Gerritsen |
22 |
Annette Ingram |
23 |
Hilda Kriel |
26 |
Abram Maboya |
29 |
David Maseko |
|
Nomvuyiso Mahleka |
December/Desember |
2 |
Maritz Visser |
10 |
Abram Mofokeng |
|
Bulelwa Mandubu |
11 |
Biotumelo Masilo |
13 |
Daan Lessing |
18 |
Heila Pienaar |
|
Fana Magidi |
|
Sam Makgalemele |
25 |
Josiah Lebelo |
29 |
Christelle Steyn |
|
Asia Matlala |
31 |
Julene Vermeulen |
|
Rachel Phahla |

Staff news
Personeelnuus |
Congratulations to ....... /
Baie
geluk aan ....... |
Marguerite Nel (Jotello F Soga
Library – Faculty of Veterinary Science) who has
obtained her Master’s degree in Information Science
cum laude.
Leti Klein -
ASSAf embarked on publishing a series
of three related articles in support of
Open Access
Week 2015. The second of the three articles has
been published in The Conversation. The
article was authored by Dr Leti Kleyn (University of
Pretoria):
Why it?s getting harder to access
free, quality academic research
Diana Gerritsen wat 'n
kleinseun ryker geword het.
Fundiswa Buthelezi
who was appointed in an
Information Specialist position
and joined the Theology
& Social Sciences team on level 1 from October 1st,
at the DLS.
|
We bid
farewell
to the
following staff members /
Ons sê
totsiens
aan die
volgende personeellede |
Janice de Wee from the Faculty library: EMS
who resigned at the end of August.
Gcobisa Xalabile from the Faculty library:
Humanities and Theology who resigned at the end of
August..
|
Andile Nokwe from the IT
(Systems Helpdesk Agent)
who resigned at the end of
October.
|
Lita Ferguson wat einde
Oktober aftree.
|
Our
condolences to ........ /
Ons
innige simpatie aan ........ |
Junior Baloyi's
whose mother passed
away.
|
Diana Gerritsen wie se swaer
oorlede is. |
Danie Malan wie se skoonmoeder
oorlede is.
|
Welcome to the following
new
staff members ........ /
Welkom aan die
volgende nuwe personeel
........ |

Mr Annesley Rademeyer
joined the Bindery team on September 1st, at the DLS.
1.
Where are you from
(where were you born) and what is home to you?
I’m a born and raised Capetonian, South Africa is my
home.
2.
If you were to tell one person "Thank You" for
helping me become the person I am today, who would
it be and what did they do? My mother, she
raised me and my three sisters all by herself; I
LOVE my mom so much.
3.
What one memory do you most treasure?
Marrying the greatest woman and mother of our kids.
4.
What super power would you like to have? To
heal the world (mankind) with a single word uttered
from my mouth.
5.
What's the most important lesson you've learned
in the last year? To trust in GOD, regardless of
the challenges I am faced with in all aspects of my
life.
|
|

Ms Lungile Brigitte Rathepe
who
joined the
Acquisitions/Receiving/e-Resources
team on level 2 on August 1st, at the DLS
1. Where
are you from (where were you born) and what is home
to you?
I was born in Umlazi Durban in KwaZulu Natal. Home
to me is a feeling and not a place, where I can be
100% me.
2. Where
did you work previously and for how long?
I worked at Mangosuthu University of Technology from
1991- 2011.
I started as
Library assistant, then Principal Library Assistant
until I was an assistant [for] Librarian
Acquisitions. I then worked as Assistant Librarian
[for] acquisitions periodicals at Durban University
of Technology from 2012 until 2014.
3. How
do you recharge?
Prayer and fasting.
4. If
you were to tell one person "Thank You" for helping
you to become the person you are today, who would it
be and what did they do?
David
Rathepe for introducing me to Christ Jesus. I
accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour and
that shaped me to be the person I am today.
5. What's
the most important lesson you've learned in the last
year?
That God is faithful and just and that He honours
His promises.
|
|

Mr
Arther Molefe
joined the Open Scholarship team on level 2 on
August 1st, at the DLS.
Here are
a few
questions we asked
Arther
to know her
better ....
1.
Where are you from (where were you born) and what is
home to you?
Hammanskraal, Temba
2.
What would you be doing if you weren't at your
current job? Private
investigator
3.
What more are you wanting in your career right now? Studying further
4.
If you knew that in one year you would die suddenly,
would you change anything about the way you are
living right now?
Nothing, I love my life.
5.
If you were to tell one person "Thank You" for
helping me become the person I am today, who would
it be and what did they do? Elsabé Olivier, She is a
mother and a colleague.
|
Getting to know your colleagues /
Leer
jou kollegas ken |

Tlou Mathiba: Open Scholarship (Level 2)
1.
Where are you from (where were you born)
and what is home to you?
I was born in Waterval village 80 km West of
Mokopane town in Limpopo, and home is where I grew
up.
2.
What
would you be doing if you weren't at your current
job?
I would be a footballer as I am very passionate
about it and time is no longer on my side to make it
professionally.
3.
What more are you wanting in your career
right now?
I want to have a better understanding of this field
and also have more responsibilities than I already
have.
4.
If you were to tell one person "Thank You"
for helping me become the person I am today, who
would it be and what did they do?
Apart from my parents, I would say Leti Kleyn for
instilling confidence in me and also having faith in
me that I could manage the research repository (UPSpace
IR).
5.
What's the most important lesson you've
learned in the last year?
I have learned that when you are working at
knowledge or research intensive company, you should
be able to evaluate and analyze the given
information before you can make it available for
world wide access.
|
|

Eridine Roux: Special Collections
1.
Where are you from and what is home to
you?
I was born in Rouxville in the Orange Free State so
I'm a Cheetah! But home for me is any place where
there is lots of classical music, all my music
friends, my children, and grandchildren.
2.
What more are you wanting in your career
right now?
To have enough time to complete cataloguing, and to
work through all the wonderful donations, as well as
fix the glass cabinets to make sure that all the
donations are safe but not hidden away.
3.
How do you recharge?
I recharge by attending an opera or music concert.
4.
If you were to tell one person "Thank You"
for helping me become the person I am today, who
would it be and what did they do?
My mother, who was a piano and singing teacher, for
exposing me [and teaching me] to love opera and
classical music.
5.
What's the most important lesson you've
learned in the last year?
Never take health for granted. It's a gift from God. |
|

Bettie de Kock:
Groenkloof Library
1.
If you were to tell one person "Thank You"
for helping me become the person I am today, who
would it be and what did they do?
My children, for their love and support.
2.
What movie or novel character do you most
identify with?
Erin Brockovich.
3.
When are you the happiest?
A seaside holiday.
4.
What would you most regret not having done
by the end of your life?
Not spending enough time with my grandchildren.
5.
What characteristic do you most admire in
others?
Honesty and integrity.
|
|

Antoinette Lourens:
Veterinary
Library
1.
What would a "perfect" day look like for you?
By nature I am a very lazy person, and therefore it
would usually be doing as little as possible for as
long as possible. At home a perfect day for me would
be to wake up without the noise of an alarm, and if
it is not too early I will get up and make myself a
cup of coffee which I will go and drink outside in
the garden with all the birds chirping, while
reading the newspaper. However, if I am on holiday I
would not mind getting up early to enjoy as much of
the day as possible. In the Kruger Park my perfect
day would be to enjoy the quietness and perfection
of nature.
2.
What would you be doing if you weren't at your
current job?
I would have loved to work
in the world of music, preferably as a conductor of
a big symphony orchestra performing in the Royal
Albert Hall in London, or even the wonderful
Waldbuhne outside Berlin.
3.
What is one word you would use to describe yourself
as a child?
Happy… and very privileged!!! I grew up in
Pretoria. We had a huge yard and I remember how we
built farms in the backyard using all sorts of tins
for the farm dams and replanting the weeds to form
part of our farms. We were also allowed to make our
own little fire to grill our sausages and when we
hit the road we very often stopped to do all sorts
of nice things – climbing a huge roadside tree,
quickly climbing up a hill, checking on chameleons
and dung beetles, picking wild fruit, and even to
have a quick dip in the cool water of a farm dam. In
the evenings after dinner my dad sometimes showed us
the stars and constellations and other evenings he
played the piano and we had sing-along evenings. I
discovered the joy of books at a very early age as
both my parents were very keen readers and we
sometimes visited the library on a daily basis. My
parents opened the world to us with their knowledge
and allowed us to taste this world with their help
and support.
4.
Fill in the blank: If you really knew me, you'd know
that I am extremely fond of my family.
My husband Dirk and I have four sons: Hannes (living
close to Mossel Bay); Prieur (in Phalaborwa); Corni
(Pretoria); and Jaco (Perth). We are also blessed
with wonderful daughters-in-law. At this stage we
have seven grandchildren: Dihan (10); Muller (7);
Prieur (8); Armand (6); Miné
(3);
Karla (2); and the newest addition, Zandré
(3 months).
Jaco is not married yet but intends to do so in
October 2016. We have walked many hiking trails
together, and have camped in most of the national
parks of South Africa as well as in various other
holiday destinations. Whenever we take leave it is
to go on holiday with the children and grandchildren
or to visit them.
5.
What are you most afraid of and what's it stopping
you from doing?
I am afraid of heights and I would have loved to
glide through trees with slides or to go on a hot
air balloon trip.
|

Het jy geweet .......

.... pop corn was invented
Did you know.......


...
Switzerland eats the most chocolate
equating to 10 kilos per person per year.
- aper originated
from China

- all the blinking
in one day equates to having your eyes
closed for 30 minutes

Contributed by Diana
Gerritsen

- ing strikes it can
reach up to 30,000 degrees celsius (54,000
degrees fahrenheit)
- acadamia nuts are
toxic to dogs
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macadamia nuts are toxic to dogs
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|
Letter from the Editor |
July, August and September were busy months and we
hosted and organized a variety of events. Thanks you to
all our contributors!
Another word of thanks to everyone who participated in
our Newsletter survey. Diana and I have reviewed your
inputs and comments and have acted on them where
possible. Faculty library managers are regularly
contacted for contributions and we try to keep the
articles short and concise.

Enjoy reading our latest edition!
Elsabé Olivier
Editor
|
Open Scholarship Office’s agreement with the Department
of Information Science
|
During the week of 06 July to 17 July 2015, the Open
Scholarship Office (OSO) in the UP Merensky Library
hosted 46 final-year Information Science (INL 370)
students as part of an experiential learning project. As
part of the agreement between the Department of
Information Science and the Open Scholarship Office,
students would receive training and work experience that
will prepare them for work life after studies. We had to
teach them time management and project management, as
well as how to work accurately; we believe that those
are the factors to make it in the corporate world. The
students contributed 80 working hours to the
institutional repository (UPSpace) and the digitisation
centre. The students worked on a variety of projects and
materials, including photographic collections from the
Department of Architecture, special collections
materials such as historic maps and documentations from
old Pretoria, and the Woodhouse Rock art collection.
Students gained basic knowledge of the workings of the
institutional repository, Dspace software, and the
importance of the Open Access movement. The overall
project was a success as we (OSO) managed to grow the
repository with an additional 6 500 items. We would like
to thank the Department of Information Science for
having faith in us and also to thank everyone who was
involved in making the project successful. It was an
unforgettable experience!

Contributed by Tlou Mathiba |
EAHIL + ICAHIS
+ ICLC Workshop
|
I was fortunate to attend the European Association for
Health Information and Libraries (EAHIL), the
International Conference of Animal Health Information
Specialists (ICAHIS), and International Clinical
Librarian Conference (ICLC) Workshop in Edinburgh from 9
to 12 June 2015. The Workshop was a collaboration
between the EAHIL, ICAHIS, and the ICLC. The theme of
the Workshop was Research-Minded: understanding,
supporting, conducting research.
The aim of the EAHIL Workshop was to equip participants
with a greater understanding of, and practical skills
in, research approaches and methods. The rationale
behind this theme was that an understanding and
experience of research will enable librarians to improve
their support to clinicians, researchers, lecturers and
students. Several topics were presented in different
workshop sessions. These include, among others, the
following: communication skills, mixed methods,
qualitative methods, quantitative methods, research data
management, and systematic reviews. The format of
the workshop sessions was participative and practical.
Keynote speakers emphasised the importance of research
and the role of the library as an essential partner in
knowledge creation.
The ICAHIS was a satellite conference of the Workshop,
and presented on Tuesday, 9 June, at the
Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of
Edinburgh, Easter Bush Campus. This was the eighth
ICAHIS, which is a highlight every time for veterinary
librarians around the globe.
I was also fortunate to attend a Historical tour of
veterinary education in Edinburgh, led by the really
delightful Colin Warwick and Alastair MacDonald. This
was a walking tour through the historical part of
Edinburgh, along all sites relevant to and of interest
of the development of veterinary medicine in Edinburgh.
The workshops and ICAHIS conference were both excellent
learning opportunities and I gained numerous new
knowledge on topics, formerly not very familiar to me.

Contributed by Marguerite Nel
|
South African
Librarian’s Day |
South African Librarian’s Day was celebrated on 10 July
2015. On this day librarians, as specialised experts in
their respective fields, reflected on the role they play
in facilitating access to information and contributing
to an informed and knowledgeable nation. At the
Department of Library Services
we celebrated our dynamic profession by having a little
fun! We challenged the stereotypical perceptions of
librarians as women who wear buns and spectacles,
hushing library patrons and stamping books at the
counter, and either dressed up or down. A number of
faculty libraries and units took part in this
celebration: Humanities (levels six and one), Health
Sciences, Natural Sciences and Engineering,
Pre-clinical, the Digitisation Office, and even the guys
in IT support. The Humanities ladies who all dressed up
in black stole the show with their outfits and boast 48
likes and 8 comments on our Facebook page. The
photographs can be
viewed here.


Contributed by Lidia Swart and Elsabé
Olivier |
The 11th Northumbria International Conference
on Performance Measurement in Libraries and Information
Services (Venue:
Our Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh, Scotland, 20-22 July 2015) |
This conference was all about librarians talking
performance measurements!
Before I give you my conference feedback, I have to
first rave about the host city and country.
Edinburgh is one of the cultural (host to the Yearly
Edinburgh International Book Fair) and historical meccas
of Europe - and they have the ghosts to prove it.
Both its Old and New Towns have been declared UNESCO
World Heritage sites, with over 4,500 listed (protected)
buildings. Edinburgh is also known for its
renowned residents – Adam Scott (author of Wealth of
Nations – standard textbook for business school
students), Sir Walter Scott, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
(creator of Sherlock Holmes), Alexander McCall Smith,
and JK Rowling (of Harry Potter fame), Alexander Graham
Bell (hopefully related to me as I have Bell’s in my
family), Charles Darwin, Sean Connery, Tony Blair, and
so the list goes on. The one resident that will always
stay in my heart is Bobby or Greyfriars Bobby.
Bobby is a
Skye Terrier who kept vigil over his dead
master's grave in Greyfriars
Church yard for 14 years until his own death
in the 1860s or 1870s. Bobby is immortalised in a
statue just outside the Greyfrairs Pub and Churchyard.
Visitors to this day flock to his grave to bring him
sticks to play fetch with in Heaven.
Old Town Skyline Panorama


And then there is bonnie auld Scotland (beautiful old
Scotland). Three phrases sum it up - rolling green hills
and glens, bagpipes and men wearing skirts! A must for
your bucket list.
Now, back to the conference.
The Conference was spread over three days, giving the ±
200 delegates the opportunity to choose and listen to a
selection of 81 presentations.
Going through my notes, I could see a distinct golden
thread tying the conference together, namely
“Engagement”. You may now ask, what does engagement have
to do with performance measurements or library stats?
Let me explain.
Firstly, just being at this conference and engaging with
other likeminded people was a huge learning opportunity
– discovering what their challenges around measuring
performance are and the creative solutions they use.
Engaging also meant bumping into fellow South Africans.
I was surprised and elated to bump into Elsabé Olivier
at the breakfast table – we realised we had a lot in
common and could learn a lot from one another. We also
met fellow librarians from Northwest University as well
as the University of Cape Town.
Secondly, through engaging with students, staff, faculty
and outsiders (stakeholders), you can collect a
magnitude of information or data (statistics) to apply
in various scenarios in your organization. This leads me
to the sub themes of the conference.
·
Strategic planning and setting of goals and objectives:
The starting point for determining the “what” and “why”
of collecting statistics. I want to collect data (you
need to engage to get the data) on what type of queries
my team deals with to determine if I have the correct
staffing resources to address these queries. You don’t
want to use a professional staff member to answer
general queries such as “where can I make a photocopy?”
It is also important to remember that your statistics
need to tell the story you want to tell (this links back
to doing proper strategic planning).
·
Continuous improvement: This must be one of the main
reasons we collect data; to see where our service
offerings need improvement. There are several creative
ways to engage with stakeholders – log your experiences
in an experience diary, take a photo about your
experience, and use social media, for example.
·
User experiences: We no longer work with just library
patrons. We need to acknowledge and treat them as
customers. We need to engage with them to understand
their needs. Their needs can range from specific
resources to how we design our library spaces (we even
heard from two institutes where a parent/family room was
requested and opened). We must never assume we know our
customers. We need to engage and build relationships
with them to understand them in order to make a
difference and make an impact.
Dr John Scally, National Librarian in Scotland,
illustrated our changing needs perfectly in this
extended version of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:

(As a good librarian, I wanted to reference this, but
the creator /original source is unknown)
·
Co-creation: Co-creation was discussed in two difference
contexts. Firstly, as mentioned under user experiences,
we need our customers’ input to co-create the library
space – we need to understand their needs. The library
is no longer rows and rows of bookshelves – it is a
place where knowledge gets created through learning,
collaboration, playing and reflection. Someone made the
comment, “It is alive!”
Secondly, information professionals need to become more
actively involved in the co-creation of faculty research
outputs. We already engage with them when they are busy
with their research, so why not “demand” to be mentioned
when the article is published. This will allow
information professionals to have bibliometric profiles
– a method to measure their performance.
·
Shift to the engagement model: Why can we not
participate in the entire research life cycle? We need
to start promoting our participation in research. Judith
Siess says it perfectly: “Become
the
"squeaky wheel and attract the attention your work
deserves”. Remember to log those statistics – you need
the data to tell your story.
·
Good data, not just BIG data: As information
professionals we love gathering data (statistics). Why
would we be at a conference about the topic if we did
not? The challenge is, do we collect the correct data?
Can we use the data we collect to make better decisions;
get a “balcony view” of our activities? Can we segment
our data according to specific requirements? What do we
have and what can we use it for?
·
Reflection: The statistics we gather now might be
relevant now. We have to keep on reflecting to make sure
we measure the correct activities. Reflection can also
be benchmarking this year’s data with the previous
years. Are there any patterns? Reflection, again, also
includes engaging - engaging with previous data.
The most important tip to remember - Make data
collection fun and engaging!


Contributed by
Beulah Muller
|
The Hoffmann Project of Cultural Knowledge exhibition |
During the first week of August the Merensky 2 Library
hosted an exhibition, featuring the Hoffmann Project
of Cultural Knowledge, one of the research themes of
the Faculty of Humanities. On Wednesday 5 August the
book
Ethnography from the Mission Field
(Brill, 2015), the first to have
emanated from the project, was launched in the Library
Auditorium.
Professor Cheryl de la Rey, who opened the event,
praised the project for its innovative,
trans-disciplinary research, and its contribution to
hybrid learning. She also commented on how the results
may contribute to responsible citizenship in Africa.
The Hoffmann Project of Cultural Knowledge was
coordinated by Dr Annekie
Joubert of the Centre for African and Asian Studies at
the Humboldt University of Berlin, and research
affiliate to the Department of Visual Arts at the
University of Pretoria. Prof Lize Kriel from the
division for Visual Culture Studies in this department
was the South African coordinator responsible for the
historic contextualisation of the collection. Gerrie
Grobler and Inge Kosch, Professors of Northern Sotho in
UNISA’s Department of African Languages, also
co-authored the book and participated in the team effort
of translation and annotation. The launch was also
attended by several of the other collaborators in the
project: Mr Sam Moifatswane, Ms Klaudia Ringelmann, Rev.
Michael Matsimbi, Ms Anke Moelleken, Ms Nicole Hoffmann,
and Ms Sikho Siyotula. The project, which also involved
the production of a documentary film and the digitising
(for open access) of archive collections from both
Germany and South Africa,
was funded by the
German Research Foundation, the German Federal Ministry
of Education and Research, and the
German Federal Foreign
Office.
Also attending the launch were the descendants of Berlin
Missionary Carl Hoffmann, who had been very generous to
the project, which brings together, makes accessible,
and contextualises the legacy of this mission
ethnographer: the recorded oral histories and
conversations about tradition and changing cultural
practices of people who had lived in various parts of
what is today Zimbabwe and the South African Gauteng,
Limpopo and Mmpumalanga provinces from the late 19th
until the mid-20th century. The Collection will be of
value to researchers interested in the memory of the
pre-colonial history of southern Africa, communities’
negotiation of the challenges and opportunities of the
colonial era, as well as the pertinent contemporary
question of how to live with history in the here and
now.
The database and the documentary film are freely
available on the internet and the book may be consulted
on the UP ebrary.

Hoffmann Project of
Cultural Knowledge
Book:
Ethnography from the Mission Field: The Hoffmann
Collection of Cultural Knowledge (Brill, 2015)
http://www.brill.com/products/book/ethnography-mission-field
Film: A Journey into the Life of a
Mission-Ethnographer
http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.1375528

Database: Hoffmann Collection of Cultural Knowledge
http://hoffmanncollection.hu-berlin.de
Contributed by Prof Lize Kriel,
Department of Visual Arts
|
The Impact of research data management in the profile
and standing of the University of Purdue |
On 11 August the Department of Library Services was
privileged to host Prof James (Jim) L. Mullins, Dean of
Libraries from the Purdue University, when he addressed
the staff on
‘The Impact that research data management has had on the
profile and standing of the University of Purdue’.
His
message was that becoming involved in research data
management should not be an insurmountable challenge for
librarians as it simply supports the theory of what we
have been doing as librarians through centuries; namely,
creating connections between information. We do not need
to understand the research, but instead know how to
preserve the datasets by naming, tagging, archiving,
identifying, and storing them for successful retrieval.
The metadata must be well-established.
.
PURR
(Purdue University Research Repository) was created with
the Purdue University’s executive firmly backing of the
initiative. The library’s approach was to create a
software system that could involve the researcher from
the start and not only collect their data at the end.
PURR is
used for:
·
Assistance in creating Data Management Plans - example
plans and videos are included in the repository
·
Collaboration – data files can be uploaded and shared
·
Publishing – DOI’s are provided for datasets
·
Archiving – the data is preserved in a secure repository
At the
time of Prof Mullins’ talk, 2000+ researchers have
signed up to the system. It is not compulsory for Purdue
University researchers to use PURR as researchers are
allowed to use other data repositories of their choice.
Read more
about the Purdue University Library as an international
leader in the management of research data:
https://www.lib.purdue.edu/researchdata.
Find more information about Prof Jim L. Mullins here:
https://www.lib.purdue.edu/about/deanoflibraries


Contributed by Susan Marsh |
400th Anniversary of Peregrinação -
exhibition |
Peregrinação,
by Fernão Mendes Pinto, celebrates its 400th
anniversary this year and the opening ceremony of
its exhibition took place on 13 August at the
Merensky 2 Library. This event was organised by the
Portuguese Section at the University of Pretoria in
collaboration with the Portuguese Embassy, Instituto
Camões, and supported by the Portuguese Education
Department in South Africa.
This ceremony was attended by the community of the
university and of the Portuguese Education
Department of South Africa, as well as the Dean of
the Faculty of Humanities and special guest,
Professor Vasu Reddy; Professor Rada Tirvassen, Head
of the Department of Modern European Languages; and
the Portuguese Ambassador, Mr António Ricoca Freire.
At the inaugural ceremony this important piece of
Portuguese literature was presented which, over the
centuries, generated a great deal of controversy
regarding the truth of the facts presented therein.
Fernão Mendes Pinto describes, in detail, the
adventures through the Orient; the battles, the
looting; the affairs in which he partook; invasions;
prisons; friendships with some natives, descriptions
of cities; and spiritual retreat. During this time
the Europeans still knew very little about the Far
East and so the Portuguese public doubted the truth
about Pinto´s stories and so the term was coined:
“Fernão, mentes? Minto”. This translates to “Fernão,
do you lie? Yes, I lie.” Is truth imperative when
speaking of canonical literary works? Perhaps the
truth put forth by Fernão Pinto does not please
everyone, but what others have to say with regard to
Pinto is not what is important. What really does
matter is reading exactly what he has to say.


Contributed by
Marta Campos, Lecturer of the
Portuguese Section |
Elsevier author and reviewer workshop: 18 August
2015 |
This publishing workshop,
organized by the Department of Library Services and
Elsevier, was aimed at supporting PhD students and early
career researchers with information on the publishing
process and the requirements for writing and reviewing
papers for international journals. The workshop was
presented by experienced Editor, Prof. Lise Korsten of
the journal
Crop Protection.
and Dr. Luaine Bandounas, Journal Publisher at
Elsevier.
There are more than one million scientific articles
published every year, so it is increasingly important
for researchers to find efficient and impactful ways to
make their research stand out from the crowd. It is
extremely important for authors to select the most
appropriate journal to publish in to ensure that their
research receives the attention it deserves. During this
workshop the following topics were discussed:
·
Steps to follow to select
the most appropriate journal for your work; how to
prepare and properly structure an article, from the
title and keywords right through to the conclusion and
references.
·
Publishing ethics e.g.
data falsification, data manipulation and plagiarism.
·
The most important steps
to follow when reviewing a manuscript, with a focus on
the reviewer’s role in the peer review process.
·
The best tools to use,
both from Elsevier and from the industry, to prepare,
share, promote and monitor your publication e.g.
Share Links,
Mendeley,
social media,
My Research Dashboard.

Attendees were surveyed after the workshop and received
a Certificate of Attendance. The majority of attendees
surveyed felt the workshop was very useful and they
would recommend it to their colleagues. Some attendees
suggested that these workshops should be held on a more
regular basis and perhaps be more specialized for their
particular fields of research.
For those who missed the workshop but are interested in
information on how to publish and review in
international journals, there are free training
resources
available on Elsevier’s new
Publishing Campus
which
is an online training and advice center that gives
researchers free access to lectures, interactive
training, and professional advice on a wide range of
topics, e.g. the fundamentals of books and journals
publishing, grant writing and self-promotion, to broader
issues like gender in research and open science.

Contributed by
Dr. Luaine Bandounas |
‘LIGHT: Beyond the Bulb’: Exhibition in the Merensky 2
Library |
During 17 to 28 August 2015, the Department of Library
Sciences, in collaboration with Sci-Enza and UNISA’s
Astronomy Outreach Programme, hosted an exhibition of 22
striking images that show the myriad of things light can
do, and how it plays a critical role in our daily lives.
In proclaiming 2015 as the International Year of Light,
with the focus on the science of light and its
applications, the United Nations recognised the
importance of raising global awareness about how
light-based technologies promote sustainable development
and provide solutions to global challenges in energy,
education, agriculture and health. Light plays a vital
role in our daily lives and is an imperative
cross-cutting discipline in 21st century science. It has
revolutionised medicine, opened up international
communication via the Internet, and continues to be
central to linking cultural, economic, and political
aspects of the global society.
"LIGHT: Beyond the Bulb" is an open-source international
exhibition programme that showcases the incredible
variety of light-based science being researched today
across the electromagnetic spectrum, across scientific
disciplines, and across technological platforms.
Learn more at
http://lightexhibit.org/


Contributed by
Elsabé Olivier |
National Women’s
Day Event
-
Discover that you are truly fearless and fabulous! |
On 25 August 2015 the Department of Library Services
hosted a wonderful event presented by motivational
speaker and final-year theology student Janine
Truter addressing the topic “Discover that you
are truly fearless and fabulous!” The event was
well attended by both women students and staff
members from UP.
August was National Women’s month and the lovely
Janine motivated the women who attended with her
God-inspiring message. She encouraged everyone to
follow a life based on the Word of God. She said she
started from nothing and people also doubted her
capabilities but now she is well known because she
believed in herself and she allowed God to handle
what she could not. She further explained that in
life there are three U-processes, i.e. the
Orientation, the Disorientation and the
Reorientation Processes. This simply means that life
will not always be on the same level and therefore
we need to trust that God will see us through even
in the most difficult of situations.
At the end of the event a lucky draw ensured that
nine ladies walked away with different prizes such
as five R50.00 vouchers sponsored by Fego Coffee,
three vouchers for Salon De Beaute in Brooklyn Mall,
and one book prize sponsored by Wiley.
Some of the feedback after the event included the
following comment: “I really loved the motivational
talk by Janine. She is truly fearless and fabulous!”
More photographs are available on
our Facebook page.


Contributed
by
Pfano
Makhera and Bongi Letlape |
Department of Library
Services’
Nelson Mandela International Day
Project 2015 |
Our department arranged to make a difference in the
lives of Booysens Beertjies Preschool in Booysens for
our annual Nelson Mandela International Day Project.
. The following eighteen staff members visited the
school and interacted with over a hundred 3-5 year old
children on Thursday, 27 August: Abram Mofokeng, Arthur
Molefe, Cora Bezuidenhout, David Maseko, Elliot Matukane,
Elsabé Olivier, Ernest Sefolo, Gerda Ehlers, Hilda Kriel,
Lindiwe Soyizwapi, Rianie van der Linde, Rosina
Ramokgola, Thulani Mahlangu, Tlou Mathiba, Una Mgwenya,
Wanani Sitsula, Zandi Chansa and Zebulon Malatsi.
Booysens Beertjies Preschool is a registered charity and
kindergarten, located in the west of Pretoria. Without
government funding, this well-organized school manages
to make the best of resources at their disposal. We were
impressed by a devoted team of teachers, happy children
and neat, well-kept facilities. The preschool focuses on
three to five year old needy children whose parents
cannot afford school fees. Household circumstances of
most children are dire with many families living in
Wendy houses or outbuildings. The meals provided at
school are sometimes the only meal of the day for most
of these children
After arrival, we were taken on a school tour of the
premises and then our staff members read books to the
different Afrikaans and English classes. We shared our
refreshments before playtime - oh boy, did we play! We
had to dig deep in our childhood memories for games, but
soon improvised where we didn’t remember the words to
the song: Koljander, koljander and we
played and played and played…so deur die bos…my Ma en
Pa kook lekker kos…lalalala..
It really touched the hearts of our whole team and it
was a privilege to be part of the volunteers who visited
the school. The principal, Mrs Elbet van Zyl and her
team, thanked us for having made a positive impact in
the lives of the children, by spending time with them
and for the cash donation.


Contributed by
Rianie van der Linde and Cora
Bezuidenhout |
Casual day
at the Jotello F Soga Library |

Casual
Day coincides with the first week of spring, so this
year it was decided to truly celebrate spring as a time
for joy, a time for smelling the flowers, and enjoying
the awakening of the season. The Jotello F. Soga Library
staff took inspiration from the birds and the bees, the
skies of blue, the colours of the rainbow and
flower-power, and strictly obeyed the command to “Spring
into action”. We dressed up as flowers and had loads of
fun trying to keep our petals open for the winning
photo! The library entrance was decorated with bright
spring flowers and our clients all commented on the
bright, springy colours and wonderful atmosphere. This
was an excellent opportunity to break away from the
daily routine and at the same time making a small
contribution to better the lives of disabled people in
South Africa. We were one in spirit with all our library
colleagues spread over the campuses and enjoyed
everyone’s interpretation of having casual day fun! It
was a huge surprise to share the win and we enjoyed the
chocolate cake brought by Solly till the last bite.
Thank you for creating the opportunity!
More
photographs can be viewed on
our Facebook page.
Contributed by Tertia Coetsee
CASUAL DAY WAS
CELEBRATED THROUGHOUT THE LIBRARY, HERE ARE SOME
PICTURES BELOW: 
 |
‘Living a life with books’ - National Book Week
event by Prof Molly Brown |
I
was fortunate to have attended Prof Molly Brown's
presentation, entitled "My life with books",
during the recent National Book Week celebrations held
at the Merensky Library on the Hatfield Campus by the
Department of Library Services. The audience was
enthralled as she took us through her journey with
books, from her first exposure to nursery rhymes as a
small child and her joy that came not only from the cosy
lap of her mother as she was read the nursery rhymes,
but also from the fact that she realised she "now had
words". Her statement that the "child lives in the book,
but just as much the book lives in the child" rang true
for me as well. I could relate with almost every book
she mentioned and was surprised to find that I had also
read these titles at more or less the same age as she
had.
Among her first "big books" were The Fairy Doll
(R Godden) and Charlotte's Web (E B White), which
brought her to the realisation that we have the capacity
for all sorts of achievements, and the possibility to
escape reality and have fantastic experiences. Her more
adult readings included Emily Climbs (M
Montgomery), King Solomon's mines (H Rider
Haggard), and To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee).
These books made her realise that one could question
things that seemed wrong and showed her the true
definition of courage. Her venture into science fiction
with books such as The Lord of the Rings (J R R
Tolkien) and The Chronicles of Earthsea (U le
Guin), not only aided in a search that reflected her
world, but also worlds that were alien to hers; the
typical quest story, how you live without privilege, and
that truth is a matter of fiction. Books like Heart
of Darkness (J Conrad) and A Passage to India
(E M Forster) rocked her sense of stability and made her
look at the nature of man from a different perspective.
Poetry showed her a way out and how to create a belief
system that matters.
Reading books is so much a part of who Molly Brown is
today and it has become addictive. As she says, she
"will stop at nothing to get [her] fix". To her, as is
the case with me, happiness is having your own library
card!


Contributed by Dr
Lizette de Jager, lecturer.
|
National Book Week For Dummies –
NO INSULT INTENDED!
|

The first week of September was National Book Week
and the Department of Library Services celebrated
this by promoting the Wiley’s For Dummies series, in
conjunction with Bookmark, the campus bookshop.
Students who were brave enough to meet the For
Dummies man, dress up with the props and
enter the funky “For Dummies” photo competition,
probably now have a better idea of just how helpful
and useful these books can be if you are battling
with a module at university. They are not
meant as an insult; on the contrary, written using
basic English, and quite a bit of humour, these
books explain and demystify intimidating and
complicated subjects and topics. The For
Dummies books are so popular that one is sold
every minute in the UK.
The funky “For Dummies” photo booth competition
winners and the books they chose were:

-
Michael John Bennett who chose “Investing for
Dummies”
-
Jurgen
Wolfenden chose "Dream Dictionary for Dummies"
-
Dikeledi Moeketsi chose “Calculus for Dummies”
-
Keketso Motsoeneng who chose “French for Dummies”
Congratulations to all our winners!
Contributed by
Carol Pepper
|
Heritage day
event and exhibition |
On Friday 18 September, the Department of Library
Services celebrated Heritage Day by
focusing on our natural heritage. Jason Sampson and
Philip Rousseau from the Manie van der Schijff Botanical
Garden at the University of Pretoria were responsible
for the Gardens exhibition in the Merensky 2 library.
This exhibition was the first of its kind in the long
history of both institutions and was meant to highlight
the commonality of both. As an academic institution we
need and use as many different kinds of "libraries" as
possible.
A botanical garden is a collection of living plants that
is scientifically managed for the purposes of education,
research, conservation and community service.
The Manie van der Schijff Botanical Garden
is devoted to our botanical heritage, and currently has
roughly 3 000 plant species in the collections, planted
within grounds that cover approximately 3.5 hectares of
the University's Hatfield west campus. The primary aim
of the garden is to raise awareness of Southern Africa's
indigenous flora through the acquisition
and dissemination of botanical knowledge. This includes
the provision of plant material for education and
research purposes, the collection and propagation of
rare and endangered species, as well as research into
indigenous plant species with horticultural potential.
The Garden had its beginnings as far back as 1924 when Pavetta species
were planted on the campus for research purposes. The
real impetus came in the 1930s with Berend Elbrecht, a
man with a huge passion and enthusiasm for Southern
African flora whose legacy lives on in the many large
trees and cycad specimens that were planted during his
time at the University. In 1986 the Garden was named
after Professor Manie van der Schijff to honour the
contributions that he made towards the development of
the Garden. The Garden is run by a Garden Committee
which is responsible for formulating and implementing
policy.
UP alumnus, Assistant Director in the Department of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and initiator of
the Champion Trees project in 2014, Izak van der Merwe,
was the first presenter at the Heritage Day event.
Enrico Liebenberg, co-author of the book
We are the champions,
launched their book at the event. It is the first and
only coffee-table book that showcases all 75 champion
trees of South Africa (plus seven current nominees). It
was on sale at this event at a special price of R600.
Lastly, Jason Sampson and Philip Rousseau presented on
the Manie van der Schijff Botanical Garden with a talk
entitled “The
living library of campus: resources for research and
teaching”.
Department of Library Services' staff members dressed in
their in their traditional attire and added lustre to
the event.
According to Jason Sampson,
the collaborative event was a huge success and they will
definitely be doing it again in future.



Contributed by Jason Sampson and
Elsabé Olivier |
|
In March of this year the third year
Information Design students had the great
opportunity to work with the Department of Library
Services. The task was to design posters to promote
the library’s extensive range of services, as well
as bring attention to two respective events: the
World Book and Copyright Day, held in April, and
National Book Week, which took place in September.
The process started with an introductory talk from
Elsabé Olivier, visual research and many a visit to
the library. Apart from following the university’s
branding guidelines, the visual expression of the
students was unhindered.
Experimentation with a variety of
media, concepts and good copywriting was key,
keeping in mind that a good poster is a good poster,
but a great poster is a graphic intervention! An
array of posters came out of the creative process,
demonstrating range in conceptual approach and
media. With the opportunity to display these within
the library space and online the work was shared on
campus and beyond, and the public were invited to
comment on and choose what they considered to be the
most successful poster. The winning designers were
treated to some wonderful prizes organised by Elsabé
and it surely was a memorable project, in that the
campus got to take part in the great work being
produced by the Visual Arts department and the
designers got to see their work rooted in the real
world. The
final winning posters and runners-up can be
viewed on the Department of Library Services’
Facebook page.


Contributed by
Amy van
Vuuren (Lecturer) |
Flashmob 24 August 2015! |
The surprise flashmob in the Merensky 2 library took
months of planning and negotiating – especially in
identifying a willing group to perform….I was absolutely
elated when I found an enthusiastic partner in Zamile
Mzizi, the University of Pretoria Symphony Orchestra’s
Manager. The day was chosen carefully to suit the
programmes of the Orchestra and the main photographer,
Andre du Plessis from Education Innovation. The Flashmob
Committee decided to flashmob on Monday 24 August at
exactly 10:25, as Mondays are one of the busiest time
periods in the library. Exactly eight staff members (Hilda Kriel, Carike
Schoeman, Una Mgwenya, Cora Bezuidenhout, Viveka Pillai,
Isak van der Walt, Peet Naude and
Elsabé Olivier,)
also captured the students’ reactions on their mobile
phones. The Symphony Orchestra performed Mango Groove’s
“Special star” and the drummers started at exactly
10:25. Our students were definitely caught by surprise
as some of the comments on the social media platforms
indicated with the following tag #UPLibraryFlashMob.
“When [the] library turns
into a melodious studio….I love dis…” - Adebayo
Temiloluwa
“This was epic…if you were
not at the library you mi[ss] out guys
serious..@UPLibray” – Ronewa Angel Ramovha
“Lol def don’t mind that
kind of stuff on a Monday morning”- Panda Warrior
“For once the library
became more fun...” - Manthamane Senole

André Du Plessis worked
very hard to produce the official video on Wednesday 26
August and it was an immediate hit on social media. The
video event featured on the main UP web for a few weeks
and the current views are 1,880 – in only 4 weeks!
Thanks you again to Zamile Mzizi and the Symphony
Orchestra, Andre du Plessis from Education Innovation,
and all the library staff members who participated in
the production of the video.
View our flashmob video.

Contributed by Elsabé Olivier |
|

During the month of August and early September the
Merensky Library MakerSpace held two Intel activation
days. During an Intel activation day some of their
latest technologies and inventions are shown and
practical applications of how they can be used in
various projects and ideas are demonstrated. The first
activation was held on an extremely warm day outside of
the Merensky 2 Library. Intel was kind enough to sponsor
the Library with a marketing stand for future events.
The colourful marketing stand was met with a lot of
curiosity and interest by staff and students alike.
Ranging from the display of one our 3D printers to a
fully customised Gaming PC, the MakerSpace assistants
were constantly kept busy with queries by students and
staff members on what the space is and also how they
could become part of this great initiative. The
marketing stand gave students the opportunity to learn
what the MakerSpace is and to be added to a mailing list
for future communication and ideas.
During September the MakerSpace also established contact
with the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences to assist them
with wonderful innovations. There are currently three
major collaboration projects, including a project with
input from the MakerSpace, Veterinary Sciences Skills
Lab, and the Department of Neuro Physiotherapy.
All we can say now is ... "Watch this space!!!"

Contributed by
Isak van der Walt |
IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Cape Town,
South Africa - 15-21 August 2015. |
Together with some colleagues, I attended the IFLA
World Library and Information Congress in
Cape Town, South Africa from 15 - 21 August 2015.
The theme was: “Dynamic Libraries: Access,
Development and Transformation”, and various
inspirational initiatives were shared with us, reminding
us that libraries are centres from whence growth can
sprout in a multitude of directions.
Some – only some! –
highlights:
In the Newcomers’ Session we were encouraged to
build networks and to choose our sessions carefully,
since it is impossible to attend them all. We decided to
split up as much as possible.
The Opening Session was quite memorable, with
storyteller Gcina Mhlope, singer Vicky Sampson, and the
Mzanzi Youth Choir performing - enough to get even the
most reticent of librarians to their feet! After the
keynote address, South African Arts & Culture Minister
Nathi Mtetwa and Deputy Minister Rejoice Mabudafhasi
addressed the audience and wished us a fruitful
conference.
I chose to attend the morning session on “National
Bibliographies Transformed: Matters relating to the
legal deposit of electronic resources – Bibliography”.
In the Humanities library we are sometimes faced with
obtaining out-of-print books, or lists of material
published within certain parameters, so I have an
interest in national bibliographies. We also have to
deal with matters of copyright fairly often. The
speakers ranged from Denise Nicholson from South Africa,
to librarians from the Czech Republic, Sweden and
France. Denise’s paper was entitled “Legal deposit in
South Africa: transformation in a digital world”
[See
http://library.ifla.org/id/eprint/1127 for paper]. I
realised again how important it is for those mandated to
manage such functions consistently and reliably.
The midday Poster Session, where our own
colleague, Viveka Pillai participated with an
information literacy “snakes and ladders” game, showed
us how varied the libraries’ efforts are, and also how
similar challenges affect even libraries in the most
fortunate of circumstances.
One of the most memorable presentations for me was
entitled “Digitized Contents Transmission Service for
Libraries in Japan”, and consisted of a programme
according to which books that are hard to find are
placed on a list at the National Library, from which
clients may then come and request the library staff to
make them a copy. All copyright issues with regard to
the titles on the list have obviously been negotiated
beforehand, and if not resolved, a title would be
removed from the list. In the Humanities we would
welcome initiatives like these. [The paper is available
at
http://library.ifla.org/id/eprint/1244].
Although there were a fair number of other interesting
sessions and papers, I conclude here and do so with
heartfelt thanks to UP DLIS management for approving my
request to attend. It has given me an opportunity to see
and experience librarianship from around the world,
which has been truly inspiring.


Contributed by
Adrienne Warricker |
The
Medical Library: on the move again |
The chronic lack of space we all suffer from forced
the staff at the Medical Library to relook certain
areas to create more study space. With a
shrinking print journal collection, shelves became
available and we moved the journals, the Study
Collection, the theses and dissertations, as well as
the open collection in order to have fewer books on
every shelf. We weeded the Reference Collection and
older editions of textbooks and removed some of the
shelves to create a very popular study area close to
the Study Collection. By changing the Audiovisual
Collection space, the tiny “Research Commons” has
six more study spaces for students to work on their
laptops and is closed off with glass panels to
provide more privacy for the postgraduate students.
The downstairs store room was cleaned up and
converted in further space for discussion groups as
well as areas where students can study or use their
laptops. Bongani Ntuli (Anastasia’s son) was a great
help in moving the collections and did an excellent
job. The result of the exercise is more open areas
and 30 additional study/discussion areas with
limited financial expenses.
The new toilets for the staff is our luxury after
all the hard and dirty work that was done by each
and every one of us.

 Contributed by
Magriet Lee |
Information Science students gain experience on
Onderstepoort campus |
During the July student holiday, the Jotello F Soga
Library hosted eleven third-year students from the
Department of Information Science as part of an
experiential learning project for INL 370. The
experiential learning project refers to the learning and
experience that students gain from working on an
Information Science related project for a designated
period of time. The objective of the experiential
learning is not only to provide students with high-level
information skills but also to expose them to the
culture of a business environment and the nature of
decision-making and problem-solving in such an
environment.

Students worked in three groups, and each group had to
act as consultants specialising in information services.
They had to develop a solution to address the
information needs of their client (the Jotello F Soga
Library) and had to develop a unique repository, with
accompanying documentation, specific to the client’s
needs.
The students were also involved in submitting a few
volumes of the Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary
Research on UPSpace, the University’s institutional
repository. They were also given a project where they
could be involved through every step in the development
of a collection on the repository (including the
scanning, finishing, and submission of items). This
collection, the Faculty Day Programmes, is now
available on UPSpace.
This initiative is a clear example illustrating how
academia and practice can work together in enhancing
student learning.
Caption:
INL 370 students and Jotello F Soga Library staff

Contributed by Marguerite Nel
|
|
The Open Scholarship Programme hosted the third IR Forum
on Friday 11 September 2015 at the Groenkloof
Auditorium, focussing on the theme: Institutional
Repositories (IR) at a crossroads in South Africa? This
event was started in 2014 as a day of discussion,
networking and sharing for
Institutional Repository Managers, Open Scholarship
Officers, and Open Access Supporters from across
institutions and borders in Southern African.
The event had 80 attendees from different Universities,
Government institutions and the private sector, all of
which host Open Access repositories at their
institutions. Invited speakers presented on the issues
of Research Data Management; software to be used for IRs;
proposed new copyright legislation in South Africa, and
Researcher IDs. The highlight of this event was the
attendance and presentation of the international speaker
Geoff Bilder from CrossRefs, presenting on the
importance of Digital Object Identifiers (DIOs). This
year the event also included individuals from the Open
Source Software Community, and allowed for an afternoon
session of discussions relating to challenges
experienced with DuraSpace software, training
opportunities, establishing institutional policies, and
the future of IRs in general.
Dr Leti Kleyn, the Open Scholarship Office Manager, had
the goal with this initiative to facilitate closer
collaboration in the South African Open Access
community. The event, which was free to attend, was
hosted and sponsored by the Department of Library
Services.

Contributed by Leti Kleyn
|
Spring Day 23
September 2015 - Venue: LC De Villiers Sports
Grounds |
The Library soccer team members who participated in the
soccer matches at LC de Villiers on Thursday 23
September were: Katlego Aphane, Jacob Mothutsi, Ernest
Sefolo, Tlou Mathiba, Timothy Matheba, Sello Baloyi,
Elliot Matukane, Andile Nokwe, Lucas Nhlangulela, Arthur
Molefe, Sello Baloyi, Sello Kgwebane, Fana Mgidi, Abram
Mofokeng, Josiah Lebelo, David Maseko (our soccer
coach), and Elliot Matukane (assistant coach).
The Library soccer team side won its first game with a
big margin (scoring 4-0) against Onderstepoort, and lost
the second game at 2-1 against the Finance team. Soccer
is all about fun and we would like to thank the
following ladies who cheered with others when we played
soccer: Brenda Nsanzya, Rosina Ramokgola, Boitumelo
Masilo, Suzan Mamabolo, Agnes Mogudi, and Bongi Letlape.
Thank you also to Jacob Mothutsi for his assistance with
the red and white jersey for the soccer team. We looked
great!
Hilda Kriel, Lindiwe Soyiswapi, Magda Engelbrecht, Diana
Gerritsen, Carike Schoeman, Elsabé Olivier and Una
Mgwenya were also present and their presence was a
motivation and encouragement to us.
I hope 2016 will draw more people to participate in our
Spring Events. We had so much fun and events like these
also promote social integration and cohesion.


Contributed by
Josiah Lebelo, Library Sport
Representative and Wellness Champion |
Curiosities from
the Cabinet: Temporary exhibition in association
with UP Arts and Library Services |
The University of Pretoria museum collections have in
their storage an extraordinary range of unusual objects.
The Curiosities from the Cabinet is a series of
temporary exhibitions held in the library, which will
continue into 2016, in a partnership between the
Department of UP Arts and the Department of Library
Services, to showcase some rare and beautiful objects.
For this temporary exhibition, it was decided to
showcase little boxes or containers, which were always
more than mere functional objects.
These little boxes contained trinkets, jewellery,
tobacco and tea leaves, and often it is unknown what
they held. Not all boxes are square; some are
cylindrical others are round or even rectangular. They
are made from a variety of materials such as ceramic,
wood, metal, or are lacquerware, and most are decorated
with intricate motifs, carved or even filigreed in
silver. Certain boxes on display originate from
Indonesia, China, England, the Netherlands and Japan,
and their dates range from the 19th century
through to the 21st century.
One of the striking boxes on display is an Iranian
square silver cigar case with a delicate cloisonné lid.
It was donated in the 1990s to the University of
Pretoria by the Foreign Minister of Iran. Another fine
example is a black Japanese musical jewellery box made
from lacquerware. Japan is well-known due to its
abundance of lacquer trees, which produce the remarkable
black resinous sap coating that is famous for the
lustrous shine and strength of these widely recognised
and beautiful jewellery boxes. The sap of the Japanese
Lacquer tree is the main ingredient of Japanese urushiol,
and has been used from 6000 BC to the present time.
Although this temporary exhibition was briefly held from
21 September 2015 to 16 October 2015, the opportunity to
showcase collections from storage provides visitors,
staff and students alike a glimpse into the museum
collections, which are valuable for teaching, research
and training purposes, while at the same time offering
them opportunity to appreciate some never-seen-before
objects from storage.


Contributed by
Alexandros Andreou, Department of UP Arts
|
Visitors to
the Merensky 2 Library |
Visitors from the
University of Ghana - August 26th, 2015 |

|
Mr Reinher Behrens
visit the library on September 1st, 2015 |
Mr Reinher Behrens is a consultant who has been
appointed by the Vice-Chancellor and Prinicipal Prof
Cheryl de la Rey for a duration of 3 months. He visited
the Department of Library Services on the 1 September to
get to know how our operations work and to investigate
our department's relationship with the Department of
University Relations.


Contributed by Elsabé Olivier
|
Beaulieu College in Kyalami visited the Law Library |
 
About 30 pupils and their
teachers from Beaulieu College in Kyalami visited the
Law Library unexpectedly on 30 October 2015. They
were given a short impromptu talk on the library, legal
information and studying law at Tuks. The pupils then
walked around the library to get a feel for the layout
and collection.
Contributed by Shirley Gilmore |
New e-Books
|

Editor: John K Kruschke

Contributed by Chrissie Boeyens
|
Special
Collections book of the month |
South African farming / Anthony Hocking

Preface :
Through centuries of South African
histroy, development of the farming indusrty has been a
prime factor governing the growth of the countries
economy. From a modest vegetable garden established at
the Cape by Jan van Riebeeck to provide passing Indiamen
with fresh produce it has become a multi-million rand
industry employing more people than any other sector in
South Africa.
The South African character was built
around the farmer and the land. This identity remains
and so do the farmers whose place in our society is no
less important than was the place of their ancestors.
About the book:
The MacDonald Heritage Library is
series of topical and educational books about South
African subjects.
Source : South African farming / Anthony
Hocking.
Publisher [Cape Town] : Macdonald South Africa, c1975.

Catalogue link |
|