The Carnegie Research Commons is a space that master’s and doctoral students, researchers and academics can call their own. With 35 individual workstations, four seminar rooms and a peaceful relaxation area, clients from any faculty can come and work in a space that is conducive for focused research. It is also the quietest area in the library! You need to book a seat or a seminar room, however, there is no limit to how many time-slots you can book. Please just remember to cancel your booking if you are going to leave early, or if you can’t come anymore.
There are two dedicated librarians in the Research Commons who can assist you with your studies. The type of support includes support for Mendeley Reference Manager, referencing in general, MS Word document formatting, basic literature searches, literature reviews, and much more. And if they can’t answer your question, then they will definitely know who can. These services aren’t only for students in the Research Commons, but any master’s or doctoral student, researcher or academic of Stellenbosch University. We can assist you remotely via MS Teams, e-mail, or over the phone. Our desktop computers at the various workstations have all the latest software, that are available to SU students, installed. This includes analytical programmes like SPSS and ATLAS.ti and they also have the latest Microsoft Office Suite.
Our seminar rooms are perfect for videoconferencing, group work and any virtual or in-person meetings. If you are in need of a break, there is a lovely relaxation area with some leisure reading material available. Or you can grab a book from the library’s extensive collection and read it there.
Here is a brief video that shows the Research Commons’ layout: Carnegie Research Commons
For any queries, you can contact Kirchner van Deventer, Head: Carnegie Research Commons, at kvd@sun.ac.za.
We hope to see you soon!
