HumBlog

This is the presentation that has been put together for First Year Orientation for our Humanities students.       We think it is cool! 

Halloween is almost upon us, so we wondered if things go bump in the night  at UCT.   A while ago,  one Humreffer had a conversation with someone from residences,  and we came up with the idea of a ghost walk on campus and through the residences.     In the spirit of Halloween, we are not looking for rational explanations but just want to keep in the Halloween spirit.  

There are stories in the Chancellor Oppenheimer Library of staff who have passed on, but who have not left the building.   And no, these are not the dead librarians in the basement of the library, as some of the Humreffers like to tell people!        And reports about strange occurences and unexplained noises in the staff area of the Health Sciences Library which is right next to the morgue.   One of our colleagues had a close encounter last week!           

In her book “Haunted Corners:  South Africa’s Own Ghost Stories”, Margaret Williamson tells of the haunting of Strubenholm,  home to the College of Music.  These stories include a malevolent man whose legs taper off at the knees, a reputed suicide  and dogs sensing an unseen presence.   There is a story about Professor Chisholm’s Doberman, Roy, who would never go into Room 13 which was were the ghost had been seen, while  another version  said the dog would not go up the main staircase.        And then there is the story about the organ that was heard  to play by itself  and grand piano lids closing by themselves and windows opening and shutting on their own.        

And then of course, there is the Little Theatre at Hiddingh Hall.    Strange things are reported to happen.    Mysterious piano  music at the Arena Theatre;   A ghostly performer who may be an actress who was supposed to have died in the green room,  or it may be the ghost of a scenery painter named Cecil.

We’ve also heard that Groote Schuur Residence has a few ghosts, including one little old lady in a wheelchair who roams the men’s corridor.       Woolsack is also reputed to be haunted by the original architect of the university, who committed suicide there.

And what about the Graduate School of Business?  Given that the building was previously  the Breakwater Prison, surely there are still souls wandering round?   There is a story that people working through the night hear rattling on the first floor.  

 So who is up for a ghost walk?

 If we have missed any stories,   please let us know in the comments field.    

Spooky South African tales in the library:-

828.9685 ROSE     BA 823.91 ROSE    Rosenthal, Eric.       They walk in the night : true South African ghost stories and tales of the supernormal. --    Johannesburg : Dassie Books, 1951.

133 DUP  BA 133 DUP  Du Plessis, Izak David, 1900-1981     Goëlery / I.D. du Plessis. --    Kaapstad : Nasionale Pers, 1941

 98.2096805 HOPK  BA 398.2 HOPK  Hopkins, Pat, 1954-   Ghosts of South Africa / Pat Hopkins. --    Cape Town : Zebra Press, 2006.

 BA 133.1 HALL  Hall, Sian.     Haunted / Sian Hall. --    Newlands [South Africa] : Ampersand Press, 2011.

BA 398.2 DUPL   Du Plessis, Izak David, 1900-1981      Poltergeists of the south / [by] I.D. Du Plessis. --    Cape Town, H. Timmins, 1966.

RR 398.2096805 GOLD  BA 398.2 GOLD  Goldstuck, Arthur.     The ghost that closed down the town : the story of the haunting of South Africa / Arthur Goldstuck. --    Johannesburg : Penguin Books, 2006.

BDJ 968 MARS   Marsh, Rob.     South Africa weird and wonderful / Rob Marsh. --    Cape Town : Tafelberg, 2003.

 And then ask for these via Interlibrary Loans or  check your  local public library shelves:-  

Haunted corners : ... South Africa ̕s own ghost stories / Margaret Williamson.  Parklands [South Africa] : Ad. Donker, c1993.  

Where mystery dwells : a psychiatrist studies psychical phenomena / B.J.F. Laubscher ; preface John D. Pearce-Higgins.   Cambridge [England] : J. Clarke, 1972.

Uitgesoekte goelstories / I.D. du Plessis.  [Kaapstad] : Tafelberg, 1980.

UCT Libraries, together with OpenUCT and the Scholarly Communication in Africa Programme, is hosting a lunchtime seminar "Demystifying Open Access" on Thursday 27 October 2011 in celebration of Open Access Week.     There has been such an overwhelming demand for the seminar,  that we are going to offer a repeat session -  so watch this space for the date and time!  

Open Access resources include:-

*   the Directory of Open Access Journals

*   SciELO South Africa 

*   PLoS  (Public Library of Science)

*   African Journal Archive

*   Open J-Gate  (open access link is  currently under maintenance)

*   Accredited Open Access Journals  (accredited by DHET)

*   GeoRef Open Access Journals

*   BioMed Central

*   IAMCR Open Access Journals (International Association of Media and Communication Research)

*   Open Access Journals Search Engine  (an e-journal portal from the Krishna Kanta Handiqui State Open University)

*   PubMed Central

and check out the list on Wikipedia.

 

 Check out the Open Access @ UCT blog.

There have been quite a number of changes in the library since we last blogged!    So where are the Humanities Library staff to be found?

Alex D'Angelo still heads the Humanities Library.  Full time in Humanities are librarians, Ingrid Thomson and Celia Walter.  Our offices are on Level 4 of the Research Wing  (the old Commerce Library).     Actually we have pretty nice offices looking out across the Research Wing!    We take turns to man the central information desk on Level 4 (across the way from the loans desk.)

Subject responsibilities have undergone some changes, which means some "new" faces in the department.   So we welcome Caroline Dean (Electronic Resources Librarian)  who takes on Afrikaans + Nederlands, Arabic,  French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Portugese,  while Isaac Ntabankulu (Manuscripts and Archives)  is responsible for looking after the African Languages & Literature.  Busi Khangala (African Studies Library) has Gender Studies, while Tanya Barben (Rare Books) looks after Political Studies.  These librarians are based elsewhere in the UCT Libraries -  contact details are here.  

There have also been some major subject changes for Alex, Ingrid and Celia.    Alex is now the subject librarian for Psychology, English, Linguistics, Religious Studies, and Social Anthropology, while Celia takes on Sociology, Social Development, Philosophy and Classics,  and Ingrid has responsibility for Education, Film and Media Studies, Librarianship and Historical Studies.

 

Friday was a sad day for the Humanities librarians as we said goodbye to our reference desk.   Monday,  the start of first semester, sees a central information desk (which will be staffed by staff from the Humanities, Commerce, and Science & Engineering)  on the Main Level of Chancellor Oppenheimer Library. 

 

Going, going, gone, and piled up in a corner.

 

Here's the latest on the  book moves in the library:-

800 -  844   on Level 5 South (Jagger Wing)

845 -  879   on Level 3  (below Short Loan)

880 -  968  on Level 5 South (Jagger Wing)

968 -  999  on Level 3 (below Short Loan)

 

In their permanent places:-

000 - 359  on the Top Terrace (Level 5)

360 - 799  on Level 5 North  (old Science and Engineering Wing)

 

 

 

Here's an update on the book moves in the Chancellor Oppenheimer Library.  

*  Most of the activity centres around the old Science and Engineering Wing with the books almost all in place and in one sequence from 370 - 799.        Still to be moved into their proper places on those shelves are the 360s  (still in Commerce) and the 490s (still in the Jagger/Humanities wing.)

*  Temporary access to levels 2 and 3 where the print journals are shelved is via the lift (close to the Commerce area).

Apologies for any inconvenience.

 

The moving of the books continues this week ...

000 - 359 are in place on the Level 5 Terrace.

360 - 699 are in transit on Level 5 in the old Science & Engineering Wing.  

700 - 999 are still in place in the old Jagger Wing.   

 

Please ask at any of the service desks for assistance.

 

 

Not only are all the books and journals in the process of being moved,  but there is also some minor construction on the go.  Cables and the like need to be lifted and laid elsewhere, reference desks and offices moved over the next few weeks, which means that there will be much hammering and chopping in different parts of the library.      

We apologise for the inconvenience,  but when the work has been completed,  it will have been well-worth the discomfort.

The Chancellor Oppenheimer Library is abuzz with activity with book and journal sequences being rearranged (amongst other changes coming).

All print journals are now housed in one sequence on Levels 2 and 3 of the Chancellor Oppenheimer Library.   Pre-1965 print journals are housed off-site and are available on request from the Loans Desk.   The latest issues of print journals are still housed in the Current Reading Room (above the old Short Loan Centre).

The book sequence is currently being rearranged into one sequence.   

 Please ask at any of the services points should you need assistance.

Apologies for any inconvenience.

 

  

UCT Libraries is working on Vacation Hours.   

The Chancellor Oppenheimer Library is open Monday - Fridays from 8.30 am until 5 pm,  and open 9 am - 12.30 pm on Saturdays.

We have trial access to OECD's new iLibrary product, the successor to SourceOECD, until the end of the year.

 OECD iLibrary is the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Online Library for Books, Papers and Statistics and the gateway to OECD’s analysis and data. Access is available for titles published from January 1998 onwards.

 

Each August since 1998, Beloit College has released the Beloit College Mindset List. It provides a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college this fall.     Most of these students were born in 1992. 

The Mindset List was originally created as a reminder to faculty to be aware of dated references, and quickly became a catalog of the rapidly changing worldview of each new generation. The Mindset List website at www.beloit.edu/mindset, the Mediasite webcast and its Facebook page receive more than 400,000 hits annually.

Some of the items on the list:

Few in the class know how to write in cursive.

John McEnroe has never played professional tennis.

Clint Eastwood is better known as a sensitive director than as Dirty Harry.

DNA fingerprinting and maps of the human genome have always existed.

They’ve never recognized that pointing to their wrists was a request for the time of day.

There have always been women priests in the Anglican Church.

 

It's hard to believe that we are already into the second week of the semester and the first week of August!   

 

Chancellor Oppenheimer Library hours are

Monday - Thursday  8 am - 10 pm

Friday  8 am - 6 pm

Saturday 9 am - 5 pm