INTRODUCING – ONLINE JIGSAW PUZZLES FROM UP LIBRARY’S SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

Need a fun mental break? We have created jigsaw puzzles from some of our most loved books, interesting photographs and various other digitized resources, so you can have some fun while exploring our collections virtually.

A trend in museums worldwide, particularly during the Covid-19 Pandemic, is making collections available to the public in the form of online jigsaw puzzles. People from all corners of the globe are interacting with international collections by solving the puzzles and even competing to solve them in the quickest time.

While UP Special Collections is not a museum, we do hold heritage collections comprising many beautiful and beautifully illustrated books, as well as photographs, botanical and zoological prints and costume designs, to name a few. While our collections are considered “physical” collections (available for use only in the Special Collections Unit on Level 5 of the Merensky 2 Library), we also have numerous digital collections which are openly accessible to all students, researchers and those with curious minds. This online jigsaw puzzle feature provides a way to introduce our users to those collections and encourage them to explore.

Jigsaw puzzles are known to stimulate both sides of the brain, improve short-term memory and are a great stress-relief. Since our clients are unable to engage with our collections physically, they can still interact with and learn about them in a way that will benefit their mental health.

Click here to solve your first puzzle. You can also find the link to our puzzle page on our website http://www.library.up.ac.za/special/