The University of Cape Town Libraries and Environmental Humanities South (EHS) recently celebrated the launch of the Environmental Humanities South Collection at the Built Environment Library, marking a significant milestone in interdisciplinary collaboration, teaching and research at UCT. The event brought together academics, librarians, researchers and students to reflect on the importance of the collection and the partnerships that made it possible.

The programme was opened by master of ceremonies, Ms Amina Adam, Principal Librarian for Science and Engineering, who welcomed guests and reflected on the two-year journey that led to the establishment of the collection. 

She recalled the initial conversations about housing and managing a specialised environmental humanities collection and the deliberation on where it might be situated. She noted that environmental humanities and engineering increasingly intersect around issues such as sustainability, infrastructure and the relationship between people and place, making the Built Environment Library a fitting home.

Ms Ujala Satgoor: Executive Director, UCT Libraries, contextualised the initiative within the broader role of libraries in supporting interdisciplinary scholarship and research-intensive universities.

She emphasised the importance of ensuring that collections remain accessible and integrated into teaching and learning. 

Addressing contemporary challenges such as climate change, urban resilience and sustainability increasingly requires perspectives that move across disciplines.

Satgoor highlighted how the collection, consisting of more than 760 items, has already supported postgraduate research on environmental governance, urban resilience and ecological systems.

A recorded message from Professor Brandon Collier-Reed, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Teaching and Learning, underscored the significance of the collaboration between EHS and UCT Libraries. 

He described the collection as “a powerful collaboration that brings together scholarship, teaching, curation and access,” while emphasising the need for interdisciplinary approaches to address contemporary environmental challenges.

Its location in the Built Environment Library reminds us that environmental questions are inseparable from questions of place, infrastructure, design and justice.

Professor Lesley Green, former Director of EHS, reflected on the intellectual vision behind the collection and the importance of creating spaces for interdisciplinary thinking. “Books are a commons,” she remarked, emphasising the enduring accessibility and value of shared knowledge. 

She described the collection as a way of bringing together conversations across geology, ecology, law, philosophy, literature and infrastructure studies in response to planetary and social crises.

Dr Nobukhosi Ngwenya, Acting Director of EHS, described the launch as a “full circle moment” for the centre as it celebrates ten years of Environmental Humanities South. 

She emphasised the broader impact the collection could have beyond the university, particularly in addressing pressing challenges facing communities across the Global South.

Our hope is that the ideas and conversations sparked by these books will not only remain at UCT, but will be translated into innovative ideas and solutions for the real challenges we are facing.

Senior lecturer Tania Katzschner from the School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics spoke about the significance of housing the collection within the engineering faculty. 

Describing the move as “quietly radical, transgressive and surprising,” she highlighted how the collection creates opportunities for engagement across disciplines and challenges traditional boundaries between technical and humanistic knowledge.

A library is never simply a room filled with books, it is a declaration about what kind of knowledge matters.

The event concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Amina Adam, who acknowledged the many individuals whose efforts brought the project to fruition. Special recognition was extended to the Libraries’ Acquisitions team for their swift handling of the initial preparation and processing of the materials within a condensed timeframe, as well as to the Built Environment Library team for managing and housing the incoming collection.

Photos by Ndumiso Mrwetyana