Category: General

Three new staff members have been appointed in the Library and Information Service since the start of 2019.

 

Ms Busiswa Mofu has been appointed as a Junior Librarian in Special Collections in the Stellenbosch University Library.  Prior to her appointment at SU, Busiswa worked as an archivist for eNCA news channel, in their Cape Town Studios, for three years. Busiswa was an educator at Leiden Secondary School in Delft, prior to that.

 

Mr Letlao Seloma has been appointed as an Assistant Librarian in the Research Commons and Research Impact division of the Stellenbosch University Library. Prior to his appointment at SU, Letlao worked for two and a half years at CPUT as a library assistant, responsible for a variety of tasks. Prior to that, he was an intern at the NRF in Pretoria for one year, where he carried out circulation, cataloguing and information searching responsibilities in the library.

Ms Rachel Nyiramugisha has been appointed as an Assistant Librarian in the Engineering and Forestry Library. Prior to her appointment, Rachel worked in two part-time positions simultaneously.  She was the after-hours supervisor at the CPUT Granger Bay campus library for four and a half years, where she assisted mainly BTech Hospitality Management students with their research needs, which she loved doing. For the past two and a half years Rachel also worked as a part-time librarian at the UCT Graduate School of Business, where she assisted mainly postgraduate students.

We wish Busiswa, Letlao and Rachel every success in their careers in the Library and Information Service.

Sorry, this entry is only available in Afrikaans.

Africa Imagined | Africa Explored : a selection of maps from the Hugh Solomon Collection is the result of a special book project by the Library and Information Service and the Department of Visual Arts, of Stellenbosch University. The book was inspired by the Hugh Solomon historical Africana map collection of the Library and celebrates the research value as well as the aesthetic beauty of these maps. The book also places the collection within the wider context of the history of cartography.

 The book contains information about the Hugh Solomon map collection on which it is based, as well as two essays on early cartography and different mapping systems respectively, which form the first part of the work. The second part contains detailed images and descriptions of a selection of 20 important maps from the collection, as well as an image catalogue of the entire collection.

The valuable Hugh Solomon map collection is housed in the Africana section of Stellenbosch University Library and forms part of the greater Hugh Solomon Collection which was donated to the Library in 1958, consisting of works mainly related to early European accounts of travel to Africa. The map collection, which comprises 97 maps of Africa dating from before 1860, has also been digitized and is available on the Library’s digital heritage repository at http://digital.lib.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.2/653.

The collection boasts several interesting and unique maps in excellent physical condition. The oldest map in the collection is Abraham Ortelius’s “Africae Tabula Nova Edita Antverpia”, dating from 1570. Importantly, the collection also features two irreplaceable manuscript maps of which no printed copies have been traced. These unidentified sea charts depict False Bay and the Cape of Good Hope in 1788 and 1726 respectively. Other significant maps in the collection include 19th century maps of smaller regions of South Africa which are of particular interest to scholars of South African and African history as they display considerable detail on contemporary boundaries and routes.

The two images below depict detail from two of the maps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Africa Imagined | Africa Explored : a selection of maps from the Hugh Solomon Collection was compiled by Keith Dietrich, Elri Liebenberg and Mimi Seyffert, and published by Stellenbosch University in 2017.  The book was designed by Keith Dietrich, Heléne van Aswegen and Neil le Roux.  Heléne van Aswegen also printed and bound the book. The book was published in a limited edition of ten copies and is hand‐bound in pigskin leather.

Mimi Seyffert‐Wirth

The Stellenbosch University Bellville Park Campus Library (USBL) has a new look and feel. Refurbishment of the USBL was completed in December and the Library now boasts a more spacious, brighter and welcoming look than before. There is a redesigned reception/information desk, two offices for the faculty librarians and new signage.

The bookshelving in the Library is now mobile, allowing for changes in the use of the available space. A variety of seating options and study booths are available for users. These changes will facilitate your research, study and collaborative activities. If you have not visited the USBL, then a visit is in order. The motivated staff (who have a new staff room) will be pleased to welcome you.

In November 2018, the Library and Information Service hosted its 15^th Stellenbosch University Library Symposium, themed “Smarter libraries: User experience (UX) in action”. A focus on user experience ensures that products and services are designed to meet users’ needs. In his keynote address, Mr Ned Potter shared information and experiences of UX research and implementation at the University of York Library.

The Library and Information Service of Stellenbosch University is now taking UX forward. A UX Research Task Team has been formed.  The Team has worked on a proposal on how UX research will be conducted in the Library over the next two years. Concise descriptions of the many available UX methods have been compiled, contributing towards a “tool box” for the Library. Principles which Potter shared, which the Team is keeping in mind, are that time is important for UX (for training, doing, analysing and implementing), that one should go beyond the walls of the Library and learn what others are doing UX-wise, and that one gets more impact from quality than one does from quantity. An example of a UX method is conducting focus group discussions. In 2019, the Library and Information Service will be conducting focus group interviews to investigate our clients’ attitudes and perceptions of our research support services. Other UX methods are being investigated too.

The Team is excited to get all Library staff learning, thinking, doing and implementing UX research.

In both 2016 and 2017 the Library embarked on huge journal evaluation projects, in consultation with faculties.

In addition to the cancellation of lesser-used journals, the comprehensive Wiley journal package was cancelled for 2018, in favour of subscriptions to a smaller number of Wiley journals. The Library now provides full-text Wiley articles from non-subscribed journals through interlibrary loans, which takes between 24 and 48 hours. The Library retains 1997-2017 backfile access to the most important non-subscribed Wiley journals, and 2010-2017 backfile access to other Wiley journals.

How to access Wiley journals to which the Library subscribes on a title-by-title basis since January 2018

A list of such titles can be found here. Full-text access to the electronic backfiles of these titles remains available.

Full-text access to Wiley journals up to 2017

The Library retains access to the 1997-2017 content of some non-subscribed Wiley journals, and to the 2010-2017 content of other Wiley journals. A list of such titles can be found here. Options to access these:

• Library database list – W – Wiley Online Library
• Specific journal titles: Library’s A-Z list of e-journals

Requesting full-text articles through interlibrary loans

All Wiley journal articles remain discoverable up to abstract level. Should you require the full text of a non-accessible article (i.e. published since January 2018), you may request it through interlibrary loans. This service takes between 24 and 48 hours. Please note that the cost of interlibrary loans is carried by the Library, and not by academic departments.

Any further enquiries can be directed to: Naomi Visser (nrv@sun.ac.za, tel. 021 808 4433)

Mark Frier

What is research data management?

It is like a shadow in the darkness, a mystery lingering in academic minds. The words themselves have been whispered in the corridors all across campus: What is research data management?

To adapt what legendary investor Philip Fisher wrote in relation to the hullabaloo about dividends in his famous investment classic Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits:

There is a considerable degree of twisted thinking and general acceptance of half truths about a number of aspects of research data management. However, whenever the significance and importance of research data management is considered, the confusion of the typical researcher becomes little short of monumental.

In summary, research data management can be described as a process which consists of two components:

1. firstly, planning for the manner in which research data will be managed during and after the research process; and
2. secondly, controlling the collection, processing, analysis, sharing, dissemination, curation and reuse of research data.

So what is the hullabaloo about research data management?

In the past decade the management of research data has taken on a more prominent role in tertiary education institutions around the world. This has been primarily due to the increasingly data-centric nature of academic research. At the same time academic institutions have been influenced by the Open Access movement which advocates for the unrestricted access and use of published research. A convergence of these two developments has culminated in a call for the unrestricted access and use of research data. The move itself is being supported by research funding agencies. In recent years, some of Stellenbosch University’s research funders have required the implementation of adequate research data management practices to facilitate the open access of research data. Such practices should comply with best practices such as:

1. research data should be managed through the creation and submission of data management plans; and
2. research data should be findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable.

 What are the implications?

The recent developments relating to Open Access and Open Science have necessitated the creation of a research data management system at the university to facilitate adequate research data management practices. As a leading research institution, Stellenbosch University will address this issue by adopting appropriate data management practices. Thus over the foreseeable future, students and staff can expect a number of developments related to the creation of our university’s research data management system.

Watch this space for future developments!

 Samuel Simango

ssimango@sun.ac.za

The Library’s digital heritage repository, SUNDigital Collections, which currently hosts 12 861 individual items in 30 collections, recently underwent an essential system upgrade. This upgrade resulted in a new look and feel for the repository, as well as enhanced features for easier navigation. These features include opening images and documents in separate windows and a multi-level hierarchical structure, which allows for more granular indexing of larger collections.

A few new collections were also added to SUNDigital Collections this year, most notably a collection of plates with original botanical illustrations and handwritten notes from the Rudolf Marloth Collection. In keeping with the spirit of the University’s centenary year, the Victoria College and Stellenbosch University photograph collection has been augmented with the addition of several new images, including photographs picturing student life through the years.

The collection of journalist August de Villiers (Gus) Cluver, who was a student at Stellenbosch University between 1932 and 1935, has also recently been digitised and uploaded to SUNDigital Collections. Cluver was a student cheerleader and editor of the liberal “Pro Libertate” student publication of which the fragile original is kept in the Africana section of Special Collections. A next step to complete the digital collection would be to digitise these scarce original copies.

In addition to the substantial growth SUNDigital Collections has shown since its inception in 2013, it appears as if the repository is also being widely accessed and used. Recent usage statistics show approximately 1300 visits and 890 downloads in the month up to the 29 May, including international visits from the USA, UK, Russia, Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Canada. The most popular downloads are from collections featuring examples of South African vernacular architecture, such as the André Pretorius collection.

Mimi Seyffert-Wirth

“The new library doesn’t only look modern but feels like a space full of success stories waiting to happen”! This was a testimony from a student which was read out during the Official Opening of the newly refurbished Medicine and Health Sciences Library, at the Tygerberg Campus, on 22 May.

Originally furnished in 1974, the Medicine and Health Sciences Library was in need of a revamp. Planning for the new library of almost 3000 m², began in 2013.  In 2017/2018, a total refurbishment was undertaken.  The refurbishment formed part of the SU Campus Renewal Plan. The new library is aligned with one of the themes of the University’s new Strategic Framework, namely, networked and collaborative teaching and learning.

Construction started in February 2017. Most of the library’s books and journals were placed in storage for a year. During this time, the library occupied a temporary space in the basement of the faculty. The temporary space allowed staff to continue providing a service although limited books and space were available to students.

The refurbished library now has much to offer its users in support of networked and collaborative teaching and learning. There are 68 Windows computers with up-to-date software on a high-speed network. The computers are dispersed throughout the library, with eight in the Lounge area. Medical and Health Sciences students also make use of their own devices and the library has therefore ensured adequate, seamless Wi-Fi connectivity.

The new state-of-the-art Digital Commons and E-classroom allows students a space that is conducive to academic learning, both in a group and as an individual.  The 38 Windows computers and projector, are earmarked as a training facility where library staff can train students and staff in the use of the library and its resources.

Also available are six study booths fitted with comfortable benches and electrical points for e-devices. Twenty-one individual study tables, towards the back of the library, offer quiet individual reflective learning spaces with comfortable seating. All are equipped with power docks.

The library has nine seminar rooms of various sizes, each fitted with appropriate equipment for use by groups, either for discussions, meetings, group learning or collaborative sessions.  Appropriate equipment ranges from electrical points to screens and whiteboards, all of which promote student collaboration and discussion and enhance student engagement in learning.

The Research Commons is a dedicated space that actively supports research, and is exclusively for postgraduate students, researchers, academics and administrative staff.

The novel Video Conferencing Room is a specialised area with video conference facilities. It is available for use by researchers and specialised groups.

The yellowwood tree in the courtyard conceptualizes the philosophy of a library being symbolically and physically the heartbeat of a university. It symbolizes the seed of knowledge and creative thinking that is planted in the library, and precipitates growth of the campus community.

The Medicine and Health Sciences Library of the Library and Information Service, Stellenbosch University, is now positioned to contribute and serve modern health professionals to the benefit of the greater South African society.

Yusuf Ras

Editing: Bronwyn Bruton

As a Researcher, would you like to know more about the following?

• Research Data Management
• Enhancing the visibility of your research output through self-archiving
• Maximising your research impact
• Mendeley for reference management and academic networking
• Managing your unique author ID with ORCID
• Useful tools and applications for research
• The benefits of Open Access publishing for researchers

These workshops are offered by the library’s Research Commons and will enhance your work as a budding researcher. For the more accomplished researchers, there is the opportunity to gain insight into how to maximise the visibility of your published work.

The workshops are intended to assist you on your road to the successful completion of your research work.  Whatever you are needing in terms of adding value to your research output, learning about and mastering the “how to” matters which crop up along the way, the Library and Information Service’s Research Commons workshops are THE place to find what you need.

These are only an example of the workshops offered which will assist you to complete your tasks at hand.  Most workshops are run in both the first and second semester, so if you miss a workshop, you will have another opportunity to attend.  The Library and Information Service is also continually improving these services. This year three new workshops are offered.  Each workshop focuses on specific outcomes geared to the workshop theme. To see more about this and find out about this year-long set of workshops, click on this link.

Earlier this year, the library launched a new blog on research support services, called Library Research News. The aim of the blog is to keep researchers and postgraduate students up-to-date with research-related products, services offered by the library and the library’s research support endeavours. Subscribe to the blog to receive new posts in your inbox.