Collaboration of Library and UP Museums

Both the University of Pretoria Museums (Office of the Registrar) and the Special Collections Unit (Department of Library Services) hold unique and special collections on behalf of the institution.  These are social and learning spaces that provide mostly historical and archival information for research and other purposes. The UP Museums and Special Collections accommodate, curate, manage and showcase special collections to make these available to the UP community and the wider public. For example, the UP Museums hold the unique Mapungubwe Archive and primary archival materials related to the university’s diverse art, ceramic and sculptural collections, whereas the Special Collections unit of the Library curates the Africana Collection, the de Villiers Roos Collection, and the South African Music Collection, among many others.

The Special Collections Unit of the UP Library and the UP Museums collaborated during the month of March, with the aim to bring attention to, and raise awareness of, the special collections of the University of Pretoria, which are accessible for research purposes.  Both the library and the UP Museums have collections available for research.  Both are creative spaces with the potential to act as quiet reading spaces, as well as social spaces with opportunities to explore exhibitions and to learn new information.

Several publications from the UP Museums are also available as part of the Special Collections of the UP Library.  Nikki Haw from the Special Collections Unit selects a different museum publication each week to post on social media and on the websites of both the Department of Library Services and of the UP Museums, in order to showcase the information available from the UP Museums in book or catalogue format.  This has gained the attention of the Association of Southern African Professional Archaeologists (ASAPA), who mentioned the publications of the UP Museums in one of their newsletters with a link to the “Book of the Week” news post by Nikki Haw. 

Furthermore, museum-related books, UP Museums publications and some of the special collections books were exhibited in display cases in the Merensky 2 Library, to create awareness of the collaboration and the special collections of the Department of Library Services and of the UP Museums. 

The University of Pretoria Museums are open free of charge, on Mondays to Fridays from 08:00 to 16:00.  For more information or to book tours, please contact the Museum Interpretive Officer, Nicole Hoffmann, via email or telephone:

Email: [email protected] or [email protected]

Telephone: (012) 420 2178/5181

The Special Collections Unit is on Level 5 of the Merensky 2 Library and is open Mondays to Fridays from 07:30 to 16:00. For more information, Nikki Haw (Special Collections Unit co-ordinator).

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: (012) 420 4707

http://www.library.up.ac.za/special/index.htm