Blog

  • Tools of the Trade: must haves for every paper conservator
    by Daniéle Knoetze and Nancy Child Conservators will tell you that the right tool for the job makes all the difference. The tools and equipment found in a conservation laboratory range from large, excessively expensive equipment to small hand tools that you can get at any beauty store for under […]
  • Human Rights in the AV Archive
    By Andrea Walker, audiovisual archivist This Human Rights Day, we’re highlighting the collections in the AV Archive that have a large human rights component. There are 44 collections in the AV Archive, almost entirely falling into six categories. BVF44—Orphans, is the only collection that does not fall into a category. […]
  • Published Collections – Our Ongoing Recovery – Nearly Two Years On
    by Mandy Noble Mandy Noble is the Principal Librarian for Published Collections in Special Collections at UCT Libraries. Nearly two years have passed since the devastating fire on April 18, 2021, which saw the destruction of the Jagger Reading Room and all the contents therein. The salvage of the library […]
  • The Life of Objects: Documentation
    by Daniéle Knoetze and Nancy Child This is the first post of a four-part series. This series is to give a behind the scenes look at the UCT Library’s (UCT_L) Conservation Unit manned by Nancy Child, Senior Conservator and myself, Daniéle Knoetze, Junior Conservator. Why do conservators focus so much […]
  • Fragments of the African Film Collection Survived the Fire
    By Andrea Walker with  Bev Angus Andrea Walker is an audiovisual archivist in Special Collections, chiefly responsible for the Audiovisual Archive. Bev Angus retired at the end of 2021, after decades working in Special Collections, curating the African Film Collection. Initially believed to be entirely destroyed by fire, the AV […]