DLS hosts 2021 virtual year-end celebration

The Department of Library Services hosted its annual year-end celebration on Friday, 26 November 2021- organised by the Scholarly Communications Unit. With continued COVID-19 restrictions a face-to-face function was not possible yet again- but the team made the best of the situation and it was a memorable, interactive and inclusive celebration with the cleaning and security staff also part of it.

Mr Lazarus Matizirofa, Deputy Director, welcomed everyone to the function. After a brief introduction, a short presentation followed in which staff members who joined the DLS in 2021 were welcomed. A tribute was paid to staff members who had left the institution during the year as well as a special remembrance for our colleagues who had passed on.

The 2021 highlights and reflections were presented by Ms Veliswa Tshetsha, Senior Coordinator of Open Scholarship, where we reflected on the year and celebrated all the great achievements including the community outreaches, the staff photo shoot, various webinars and the international symposium on robotics - just to name a few. To make the day more fun, colleagues were invited to participate in a competition titled “surviving COVID-19” by creating a picture collage as a unit to show how they were surviving these tough times. It was a festive occasion with dancing, singing, poetry and a lucky draw.

The Library Director, Ms Lindiwe Soyizwapi, gave a very inspiring message, thanking all staff members for their commitment, in spite of very difficult circumstances, in making a significant contribution to the university community as well as a valuable impact on the life of our clients, co-workers and the broader community.

A delivery of cookies and chocolates was made to each library branch, as well as a special gift hamper that was given to each staff member.

Mr Tlou Mathiba, Institutional Repository Manager, was the master of ceremonies and closed the event with a few words of thanks. We look forward to the 2022 year-end function, which is scheduled to be organised by the Circulation Learning Centre and Reserved Collection unit.

A special thank you goes to the following team members who worked tirelessly to make this event a success:  

• Rosina Ramokgola (Data Curation Officer)
• Pfano Makhera (Metadata Specialist) 
• Zamatungwa Khanyile (Copyright Officer)
• Hendriette Lotter (Senior Collection Developer)
• Arthur Molefe (Information Assistant) 
• Gift Ramoloko (Student Assistant)
• Tlou Mathiba (Institutional Repository Manager)

Congratulations to the winners of our "surviving COVID-19" competition: 

College of Health Sciences Library

Humanities and Theology Faculty Library