Jotello F Soga’s move to a well-balanced, streamlined collection: a space to breathe

At the Jotello F Soga Library on the Onderstepoort Campus, a collection project was launched that aimed to make more inclusive and welcoming spaces. We wanted to improve the flow and feel of the library while continuing to satisfy our library clients’ needs.

We decided to review our collections. It was with a feeling of lightness in our hearts that we evaluated, weeded, and re-organised books and journals inside the Veterinary Faculty Library. With the assistance of the DLS Technical Services Unit, journals were evaluated and duplicates/less relevant titles were removed. Acquiring electronic backfiles of titles reduced the volume of print journals. After a process of decision-making in collaboration with the Faculty of Veterinary Science, the print journal collection was relocated to an off-campus storage space at the Technica Building on the Groenkloof Campus.

This process was repeated with the Open collection and Study collection books. Over the years when print books were favoured, the Study collection had grown unwieldy. It was necessary to decrease the Study Collection to make space for improved accessibility and borrowing potential. We embarked with enthusiasm on an exercise of finding duplicates, evaluating the collection, and integrating the remaining collection with the Open collection books.

The same process was repeated for the Open collection books on level five, and tools such as the Digby App were used during the weeding process. The Study and Open collections books were integrated and placed on the vacant shelves remaining on level four after the removal of the journals. Next, the redundant shelves will be removed, preparing the Jotello F Soga Library for a phase of renewal with modern flexible spaces for the future.

What seemed like a huge amount of work a year or two ago, has now been completed and it has transformed us into a state of satisfaction for a job well done. Thank you to all the staff members who helped in this collection project. I look forward to operating in a new and improved library space soon!