Month: October 2019

Ms Ellen Tise, Senior Director of the Library and Information Service, has been appointed chair of the IFLA Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE) Advisory Committee for the period 2019 – 2021 at the recent IFLA World Library and Information Congress held in Athens.

IFLA is the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions and the leading international body representing the interests of library and information services and their users. It serves as the global voice of the library and information profession.

FAIFE is IFLA’s Committee on Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression. It is an initiative to protect and promote the basic human rights defined in Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The FAIFE Committee fosters freedom of access to information and freedom of expression in all respects, directly or indirectly, related to libraries and librarianship. FAIFE monitors the state of intellectual freedom within the library community worldwide, supports IFLA policy development and co-operation with other international human rights organisations, and responds to violations of free access to information and freedom of expression. The chair of FAIFE plays an important role in supporting the work of the IFLA Governing Board on many key ethical and policy questions.

Ms Tise served as IFLA president from 2009 – 2011 and was appointed an Honorary Fellow of IFLA in 2012, IFLA’s highest award to a person who has delivered long and distinguished service to IFLA.

Ms Tise is wished much success during her term of office in this challenging role.

 

Sources:

FAIFE. https://www.ifla.org/about-faife. Accessed on 28 August 2019.

Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE) Advisory Committee. https://www.ifla.org/faife. Accessed on 28 August 2019.

IFLA. https://www.ifla.org/about. Accessed on 28 August 2019.

The Library now subscribes to PressReader, a platform that provides online access to more than 7 200 international newspapers and magazines, including about 200 from South Africa (such as Die Burger, Cape Times, Mail & Guardian, Financial Mail, Business Day, City Press, Isolezwe, The Guardian, The Sowetan and Huisgenoot). New issues of the newspapers and magazines appear on PressReader as soon as they are published. We also have archival access to publications for up to 20 years.

Articles or full publications may be downloaded to any smartphone, tablet or laptop to be read when offline. Access to these downloaded articles or publications never expires.

When accessing PressReader on your mobile device for the first time, you should do so via the Databases A-Z list on the Library website. This will authenticate your device and you will be able to continue using PressReader for up to seven days after leaving the campus. The timer on the welcome message will indicate how many days of access you have left on your device. Once the timer runs out, you simply need to re-authenticate your device through the Databases A-Z list on the Library website, or by bringing your device into the Maties Wifi range (if your device is registered for wireless connection to the University network).

PressReader has an audio feature that lets you listen to articles while you are on the go and offers instant translation in up to 18 different languages for most articles and even full publications.

PressReader’s popularity on campus is illustrated by the fact that, during the first month of access, 36 460 articles have been read by SU users.

For more information, please contact Naomi Visser at nrv@sun.ac.za or 021 808 4433.

Watch our SUNBibVideo How to use PressReader.

The Library and Information Service launched the institutional research data repository, SUNScholarData, on 12 August 2019. 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 that academic research has taken.

As a leading research institution, SU is helping to address this issue by taking the necessary steps to adopt appropriate data management practices. One of these steps is the establishment of an institutional research data repository. The implementation of SUNScholarData forms part of the Library and Information Service’s role regarding research data support which has been identified as a strategic objective of the Library and Information Service in terms of supporting research by providing world-class, diverse, innovative and client-oriented services.

Some of the set of services that SUNScholarData as institutional research data repository will provide is to capture, store, index, preserve and redistribute the University’s research data in digital formats. There are also two purposes for relying on an institutional research data repository. Firstly, this would create a medium through which SU’s research data can be made findable and accessible. Secondly, it would facilitate the interoperability and re-usability of the University’s research data.

The establishment of the repository is in line with SU’s vision of being “Africa’s leading research-intensive university, globally recognised as excellent, inclusive and innovative, where we advance knowledge in service of society” as well as the University’s strategy of supporting Open Science.

Pictured above at the launch, are (left to right): Prof Eugene Cloete (Vice-Rector: Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies), Prof Louise Warnich (Dean of Science), Prof Wim de Villiers (Rector & Vice-Chancellor), Ms Ellen R Tise (Senior Director: Library and Information Service), Ms Mimi Seyffert-Wirth (Deputy Director: Digital Scholarship, Library and Information Service), Prof Wikus van Niekerk (Dean of Engineering).

Several staff appointments have recently been made within the Library and Information Service.

Ms Elizabeth Moll-Willard was appointed as Faculty Librarian: AgriSciences from 1 May 2019.  Elizabeth previously held the position as Librarian in the Research Commons.  Elizabeth can be found at Desk 1, on the Upper level of Stellenbosch University Library, in her new role.

 

Ms Yandiswa Nombewu was appointed as Clerical Assistant in Technical Services from 1 June 2019. Yandiswa’s work supports both the divisions of Metadata Management and Acquisitions. Yandiswa previously worked as a Research Assistant at the Desmond Tutu TB Centre at Tygerberg campus, for some six years.

 

Mr Jimmy Makoloane was appointed as Makerspace Technical Officer from 1 July 2019. Jimmy previously worked at the South African Weather Services, as a Senior Technologist. He has a National Diploma in Computer Systems Engineering and a BTech degree in Electrical Engineering from the Central University of Technology.

 

Also taking up her position from 1 July, was Ms Rhoda Moses, who has been appointed as Administrative Officer. Rhoda previously worked at the SU Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology (CIB) which is situated in the Natural Sciences Building.

 

Mr Kirchner van Deventer was appointed as Head: Carnegie Research Commons from 5 August 2019. Kirchner has worked at the Northwest University Libraries in Potchefstroom, most recently as Faculty Librarian in the Education Sciences Library. Kirchner has a BA in Humanities, a BA Honours in English Literature and a Postgraduate Diploma in Library and Information Science.

 

Ms Sizeka Lengisi-Sikhondo was appointed as Assistant Librarian in Metadata Management on 1 September 2019. Sizeka previously worked as Junior Librarian in the Documentation Centre for Music (DOMUS), the special collections division of the SU Music Library. Sizeka’s work included the sorting of collections and, the assigning of metadata.

 

We wish Elizabeth, Yandiswa, Jimmy, Rhoda, Kirchner and Sizeka well in their new roles.