The Special Collections Book of the Week this week is:

Eighty-Five Years 1933-2018: the University of Pretoria through the lens of the Mapungubwe Archive by Sian Tiley-Nel and Helma Steenkamp.

The first photographic book seen through the lens of the Mapungubwe Archive, this publication commemorates the invaluable research and other nuanced contributions, as well as the social responsibility that the University of Pretoria has strived towards over decades in its efforts to bring the Mapungubwe Collection, its history and its heritage to wider access at both national and international levels. The book is beautifully illustrated with more than one hundred photographs, with limited text allowing the images to speak for themselves. It provide rich visuals, some of which are unique, in addition to never-before-seen archival images that give a fascinating glimpse of the Mapungubwe historical narrative by the University of Pretoria since 1933 up to the present. Increasingly the Mapungubwe Archive is recognised for its historical, cultural, artistic and archaeological value. More importantly, it maintains a crucial inheritance that serves as the institution’s memory bank as well as dynamic curatorship for deeper academic discourse and for the sake of public memory.

Catalogue Access: https://UnivofPretoria.on.worldcat.org/oclc/1089724054

This book is available at Special Collections, housed on level 5 of the Merensky 2 Library, and is part of our Tukkiana (TUK) Collection.

The Special Collections unit of the Department of Library Services plays a stewardship role in the acquisition and preservation of the Library's rare and valuable information resources, making them accessible to students, staff and researchers, as well as safeguarding them for future generations.

During the month of March, the Special Collections unit of UP Library and the UP Museums are collaborating to bring attention to the special collections of the University of Pretoria.