The DLS hosts guests from various institutions

The DLS had the pleasure of hosting various visitors in the last few months.

Waterkloof High School

In June, the Department of Library Services (DLS) was visited by the Waterkloof High School. Adrienne Warricker and Gerda Ehlers from the DLS welcomed Mr Gareth Harris (Teacher),  Mrs  Minnie Thom (Deputy Principal, Academics) and Mrs Annette Grobbelaar (Marketing Manager). Mr Harris is also a postgraduate student at UP. 

The visitors saw the Book Nook and liked the idea for the development of a new Media Centre at their High School, and requested to visit the library again to get more ideas for this new project. They also viewed Maker Space which they loved.

The DLS enjoyed hosting them and welcomes them again for another visit!

Adrienne Warricker and Gerda Ehlers with the Waterkloof High School visitors

University of Johannesburg Benchmarking Visit 

Ivy Segoe and Zanele Nyalunga, two research librarians from the University of Johannesburg (UJ) Library visited the Merensky Research Commons on 7 July 2022.  The purpose of the visit was to benchmark with other libraries that also have a Research Commons and provide dedicated services and workshops for postgraduate students and researchers.

The visitors were very impressed by our facilities and the way that they are used.  The UP postgraduate students’ quiet demeanour, work ethic, and neatness of the space impressed them a lot.  At UJ the Research Commons is mostly used by honours students and they struggle a lot with noise levels.

They were also impressed by the DLS Research Guide and Postgraduate Online training guide. UJ is currently planning a blog for their researchers and were very interested in The Commons Informer, UP’s Research Commons blog, and its content.  They especially loved the memes, making the way one looks at research much more fun.

They thought that the weekly research tip that the Research Commons provides for the Libraries’ social media was a good idea, as well as the monthly newsletter to keep postgraduate students informed about library matters, resources, and services.

The workshops presented to researchers at UJ are very similar to what the DLS Learning Centre provides. The workshops provided by the Research Commons seem to be unique to a library and normally done by a University’s Research Office, or not at all.  It was concluded that maintaining good relationships with faculties and management generates a lot of goodwill and possibilities for knowledgeable speakers on a variety of research-related topics.

Merensky 2  Library Research Commons

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) visits the Digitisation Unit

The Digitisation Unit continuously coordinates with other units, departments, and libraries to keep up with industry standards and facilitate information sharing. On Monday, 18 July 2022, three representatives from the CSIR Information Services joined Lidia Swart in the Digitisation Unit for a tour of the Digitisation offices.

Their stream/unit is called Records Management and Archival Services. Their responsibility is to guide the organisation on efficient management of organisational records and outputs and ultimately ensure the long-term preservation of archival collections and continuous retrieval and access. They have recently embarked on a digitisation initiative to do mass digitisation of their physical collection in the archive with enduring value to the CSIR.

During the tour, knowledge of equipment and processes was shared and discussed. The importance of preservation, of both physical and digital resources, was deliberated and emphasis was put on the significance of using the correct metadata and open access to digitised collections within copyright regulation. 

Visitors from the CSIR Records Management and Archival Services From left: Ms Maselo Rantho. Ms Dikeledi Louw, Ms Itumeleng Nthithe and Ms Lidia Swart.

Donation Offer and Visit to Special Collections

In June of this year, Theology Information Specialist, Christine Nel, contacted the Special Collections Unit regarding the possible donation of a research archive. Dr Lephoko, an Associate Research Fellow at the Department of Science of Religion and Missiology, University of Pretoria, was looking for a permanent home for his accumulated research into the life of Rev. Nicholas Bhekinkosi Hepworth Bhengu. Dr Lephoko has written numerous books and articles on Rev Bhengu and completed his PhD thesis titled, Nicholas Bhekinkosi Hepworth Bhengu's lasting legacy: a study of the life and work of one of Africa's greatest pioneers in 2010. The research archive consists of personal documents belonging to Rev Bhengu as well as recorded interviews with friends and family. This archive should be of great value to researchers, especially in the field of Theology and the history of evangelism in Africa.

On 15 July, we were very pleased to welcome Dr Lephoko to the Special Collections Unit at the Merensky 2 Library to discuss the donation. Dr Lephoko was given a tour of the section and we had a delightful visit with this very knowledgeable man! We are looking forward to adding his valuable archive to our collection.

Dr Dan Lephoko with Theology Information Specialist Christine Nel

 

 University of Nairobi and Addis Ababa

The University of Pretoria hosted four delegates from the University of Nairobi and Addis Ababa from 26 July - 5 August 2022. The purpose of their visit was to do benchmarking on data management and networks. They also met Libby. 

Left to right: Tadesse Hailu, Dinkineh Atinaffie, Dr Caroline Chepkoech Kiptoo and Prof Justus Munyoki.

 

Future Africa Leader Fellowship (FAR-LeaF) Programme Visit 

 

On 8 August 2022, Future Africa welcomed 25 Fellows as part of the Future Africa Leader Fellowship (FAR-LeaF) Programme. As part of their experience, they toured the library, Botanical Garden, and the UP Museum. The library tour included a visit to the Makerspace, Research Common,s and our very own Libby!

 

Future Africa Leader Fellowship Visit Delegation

 

Office of the Presidency

On  23 August 2022  Ms Precious Solwandle and Mr Dibageng Kgwedi visited the Merensky 2 Library and met various colleagues from different units.