PNA, South Africa’s one-stop stationery shop, has gifted R50 000 to the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Jagger Reading Room. The funds will go towards the rebuilding project to restore the much-loved library to its former glory.
The Jagger Reading Room was completely gutted when a runaway wildfire ripped through parts of UCT’s upper campus in April, leaving a trail of destruction. Several other iconic UCT buildings were also affected.
Ujala Satgoor, executive director of UCT Libraries, accepted the donation from PNA group general manager Herman Botha.
“This is an excellent example of ‘business South Africa’ investing in libraries that contribute to research and the knowledge economy.”
“This is an excellent example of ‘business South Africa’ investing in libraries that contribute to research and the knowledge economy. The gift from PNA will be added to our efforts towards creating permanent solutions for the preservation of our Special Collections,” Satgoor said.
Salvage process
In the aftermath of the fire, a team of expert restorers and volunteers have worked tirelessly to salvage thousands of wet items from the water-logged Jagger Reading Room basement. This process involves placing these items in cold storage – the first line of defence in an archive’s fire salvage plan.
Satgoor said she and the UCT Libraries team are grateful for the donation – especially as they are exploring the possibility of purchasing their own freeze dryer (cold storage) unit, to further mitigate any additional damage to the salvaged material.
“But this comes at a cost of R1.5 million for a basic unit,” she said.
The salvaged items are currently being stored at several controlled sub-zero-temperature locations across the city, and are being closely monitored for mould, which is said to further deteriorate paper and which results in image distortion.
“The [Jagger Reading Room was at the heart of UCT, and contained the most impressive collection of books, maps, newspapers and film from our country and the continent. The oldest book in the library was by the Roman historian of the first century Valerius Maximus, [and was] published in Germany in 1471,” said Botha.
“While some of these items, sadly, are irreplaceable, it was obvious that PNA [can contribute] financially to the university’s rehabilitation and preservation efforts.”
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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.
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.