Following on from Bianca Lawrence donating her library of a 100 or so Antarctic books to the JS Gericke Library of Stellenbosch University via the African Legacy of South Africa (click here) another “Antarctophile” will donate his own collection to the library.
For many years, now-retired coastal and marine scientist Patrick Morant has been passing on Antarctic books he has collected to me to read and then to look after. Now with his kind agreement, his valuable collection of hard-cover books – nearly all in mint to near-mint condition and mainly written about the Antarctic historical age of exploration – will be donated to the university library later this year, along with my own collection.
With three collections to be donated so far, it seems Stellenbosch University will become one of the go-to places within the country for Antarctic historians. ALSA will be pleased to hear from any other prospective donors who would like to contribute to this growing resource.
Feature Photograph: Part of Patrick Morant’s collection of Antarctic books.
John Cooper, Principal Investigator, Antarctic Legacy of South Africa, Department of Botany & Zoology, Stellenbosch University, 11 June 2016