Jagger reflections: ‘It was ... my church’

24 May 2021 | Reflections Ian Rijsdijk and Martha Evans. Photo Je’nine May. Read time 3 min.
Two academics from UCT’s Centre for Film and Media Studies share their reflections on the burning down of the Jagger Library.
Two academics from UCT’s Centre for Film and Media Studies share their reflections on the burning down of the Jagger Library.

Falling in love

I fell in love with film in the building that is now the African Studies library. Back then, it was the Short Loan section, and I opened the catalogue of VHS tapes at A and began my film education. The losses are more than just the physical materials that may have been lost, but also the place of the library in the ecology of learning. It is so connected to my teaching of African and South African film over the past 20 years, and I always relished the chance to guide students to the special video collections housed there. Entering the reading room was always a beautiful, reflective and inspiring moment, too.

I think what I will miss is the chance to find the marginal, local things in my research that I would find nowhere else. I loved waiting with expectation for the materials to be brought to my reading table. The detective in me couldn’t wait to start the search for that golden moment of discovery, the chance to find something original and little known that would contribute to my own research or teaching.

Finally, I cannot express how much I appreciate the work of the Special Collections librarians over the years who tirelessly dedicated themselves to building and nurturing those collections. They are close and cherished colleagues and I feel deeply for their grief at the moment.

Dr Ian Rijsdijk


A site of significance

I worked as a student librarian when the room was set up as the Short Loan section, so I have watched the building transform over the years, and I feel intimately connected to the space. It was, as I have said elsewhere, my church.

Its 2011 refurbishment was a triumph. It was always delightful to leave the hustle and bustle of campus and to slip into the coolth and quiet of the reading room.

It was the site of significant historical discoveries for me. Recently, I've been researching the life of Struggle stalwart Lilian Ngoyi, and it was in Jagger Reading Room that I uncovered the identity of her grandfather, a trail-blazing Methodist missionary who was a historical figure in his own right. It was in the Jagger Reading Room that I read an original letter that Ngoyi wrote to Ray Alexander about her visit to Nelson Mandela on Robben Island.

These were significant moments for me as a scholar, and I am so saddened by the loss of both the space and the numerous records it housed.

Dr Martha Evans

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#UCTFire – one year later

Jagger Library Memorial Exhibition opens on 20 April 2022

The Centre for Curating the Archive, in association with Michaelis Galleries (UCT) and UCT Libraries will stage a memorial exhibition marking the one-year anniversary of the tragic Jagger Library fire at the Michaelis Galleries. The exhibition will open to the public on Wednesday, 20 April 2022.

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Updates on Campus Fire

 

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Memories of Jagger Library – stories from the UCT community



Content submitted by members of the UCT community has been published with little to no editorial intervention from UCT News.

#UCTFire – stories from the UCT community



Content submitted by members of the UCT community has been published with little to no editorial intervention from UCT News. 

 

In an email to UCT students, Vice-Chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng said:
“Thank you for your patience as we seek ways to return to full academic activity at the University of Cape Town under COVID-19 regulations. Our first priority is to ensure the health and safety of everyone who needs to return to campus buildings.”

UCT is deeply grateful to all the donors who supplied food and other essential items for our students, and to everyone who has so generously offered other forms of support and assistance.

Everyone who would like to support the #UCTFire emergency relief fund is urged to please make financial donations to UCT through the UCT Alumni Ways to Give web page.

Donations can also be made by EFT using the details below:
Account name: UCT Donations Account
Bank: Standard Bank of South Africa
Branch code: Rondebosch Branch, 025009
Account number: 07 152 2387
Swift code: SBZAZAJJ
Please include your donor name if you so wish, as well as the reference for your donation, e.g. Name Surname, #UCTFire.

Messages of support


Cengage EMEA 17:00, 7 June 2021
Ricardo de Sao Joao 16:00, 17 May 2021
J.P. Morgan 10:00, 17 May 2021
Unilever Southern Africa 16:10, 6 May 2021
Iziko Museums of South Africa 16:20, 5 May 2021
Sciences Po, France 10:05, 4 May 2021
The University of Tokyo 09:00, 30 April 2021
McCall MacBain Foundation 16:00, 29 April 2021
Stephen Toope, Chair of IARU 23:50, 27 April 2021
Mazi Asset Management 21:00, 27 April 2021
The National Archives (UK) 17:40, 27 April 2021
Universiteit Antwerpen 16:20, 26 April 2021
Yale University 21:15, 23 April 2021
SOAS University of London 17:00, 23 April 2021
University of Nairobi 15:45, 23 April 2021
Zhejiang University 12:05, 23 April 2021
University of Glasgow 11:20, 23 April 2021
Durham University 18:20, 22 April 2021
Sanlam Corporate Team 16:00, 22 April 2021
MANCOSA 16:00, 22 April 2021
Mastercard Foundation 13:30, 22 April 2021
National Research Foundation 09:05, 22 April 2021
Taylor & Francis 08:20, 22 April 2021
McGill University, Canada 21:35, 21 April 2021
Wild Bean Café 19:50, 21 April 2021
Worldwide Universities Network 19:10, 21 April 2021
University of Groningen 13:35, 21 April 2021
National University of Lesotho 11:00, 21 April 2021
Google South Africa 10:35, 21 April 2021
Chinese Ambassador Chen Xiaodong 09:00, 21 April 2021
George Whitefield College 08:40, 21 April 2021
Virginia Tech 02:00, 21 April 2021
University of Southampton 18:10, 20 April 2021
University of the Free State 17:25, 20 April 2021
KU Leuven 15:45, 20 April 2021
Northwestern University 15:45, 20 April 2021
Council on Higher Education 14:00, 20 April 2021
Times Higher Education 11:45, 20 April 2021
Regent Business School 11:15, 20 April 2021
Professor Crain Soudien 09:05, 20 April 2021
University of the Western Cape 09:00, 20 April 2021
Bishop Tshalo Katshunga 07:30, 20 April 2021
National Library of France 20:50, 19 April 2021
Thabo Mbheki Foundation 20:00, 19 April 2021
Stellenbosch University 19:10, 19 April 2021
Chinese Embassy in South Africa 17:20, 19 April 2021
University of Hull 17:00, 19 April 2021
University of Copenhagen 13:25, 19 April 2021
Cape SA Jewish Board of Deputies 13:10, 19 April 2021
Mastercard Foundation 10:50, 19 April 2021
Stellenbosch University 09:20, 19 April 2021
Minister Blade Nzimande 09:15, 19 April 2021
Committee on Higher Education 09:10, 19 April 2021
University of the Witwatersrand 09:05, 19 April 2021
University of Pretoria 09:00, 19 April 2021

 

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