Jagger Recovery
Special Collections remains in recovery to rebuild and restore its world-renowned collections after the Jagger Library fire in 2021. Follow our recovery progress.
2025
UCTL Special Collections in 2025
The bedding down of Special Collections in a new premises at Deneb House in Observatory continued throughout 2025 in what was a steady rebuilding of services, collections and spaces.
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Special Collections in Recovery – Four Years On
April 18, 2025 marks the 4th anniversary of the Jagger Library fire. A significant milestone was the move from Birkdale 3 to Deneb House, a five-year leased facility in Observatory.
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2024
UCT Libraries staff continued with the recovery, restoration and collection rebuilding efforts. You can read the 2024 message from our Executive Director, Ujala Satgoor.
Some of the facts and figures highlighting the significant progress achieved up to 18 April 2024.
We have also updated the timeline with some significant milestones from the past year.
Read What we lost in the Jagger Library fire, the open access article written by Special Collections team members Clive Kirkwood, Mandy Noble and Michal Singer, published in Africa Bibliography, Research and Documentation by Cambridge University Press.
Our thanks to the generous donors who have donated books and videos to the rebuilding on the library collections.
2023
Two years after the Jagger Fire
Explore the exhibitions held to commemorate the second year since the Jagger Fire. A collaborative initiative between UCT Libraries and DStv.
2022
One year after the Jagger Fire
Explore the exhibitions held to commemorate the first year since the Jagger Fire. A collaborative initiative between the Centre for Curating the Archive and UCT Libraries.
Personal accounts from Special Collections staff
Crate by Crate: Making Progress Visible in AV Recovery
The AV Archive (AVA) used to live in the basement of the Jagger Library. It was one of the first areas to be salvaged following the fire. As the water used to douse the flames accumulated in the basement, a decision was made to expedite...
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Human Rights in the AV Archive
The urgency to restore the AV collections in UCT Libraries Special Collections is underscored by their critical role in documenting the history of struggle, and transition to, human rights and democracy in South Africa.
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Published Collections: Our Ongoing Recovery - Nearly Two Years On
Nearly two years on, significant gains are evident during the recovery and rebuilding of our African Studies and Rare Books collections. Our goal is to enable access to users during this interim period, albeit in a small way.
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Fragments of the African Film Collection Survived the Fire
Initially believed to be entirely destroyed by fire, the AV team has recovered at least 850 titles of the original African Studies Film Collection. They were kept in VHS format and have now been digitised.
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Exploring architectural archives in recovery
Promoting public awareness of our rich architectural legacy at the University of Cape Town. The collections include the professional papers and project plans of 20th-century Cape Town architects.
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Recovering the Archive
From salvage to recovery. A story by our Principal Archivist, Michal Singer about the first responders and the relentless efforts to recover our manuscripts and archives.
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Jagger Fire & Recovery Digital Collection
The Jagger Fire and Recovery Collection was launched on 20 April 2022. The collection aims to be a window into disaster recovery, managing communication and the human experience. The website will also become the new home to follow our journey to recovery.
Follow our Recovery
Ways to help and support
