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Using the Library

Inside Bolus Herbarium Library
Originally a taxonomic library, the Bolus Herbarium Library has been nurtured and developed. Today, in addition to its magnificent collection of early botanical works, it houses a comprehensive collection of modern literature relating to systematic and evolutionary botany, plant ecology, ecophysiology and conservation ecology (much of it in a South African context), as well as numerous international journals focusing on these specific topics.
Reference Collection
When entering the library, the Reference Collection books are shelved inside glass door shelves in the lower level reading room. Oversized reference books are shelved inside the last glass door shelve with atlases.
Open Shelf Books
The books in the Bolus Herbarium Library are arranged numerically.
Lower Level Shelf label: K 000 – K 585.999
Upper Level Shelf label: K 586 – K 999.999
Shelf number | Subject area |
K 551.4 | Geomorphology |
K 561 | Paleobotany |
K 570 | Life sciences |
K 574 | Biology - general |
K 576 | Organic evolution and genetics |
K 577 | General nature of life |
K 579 | Collection and preservation |
K 580 | Botanical sciences |
K 581 | Botany |
K 582 | Spermatophyta (Seed-bearing plants) |
K 582.13 | Herbaceous flowering plants |
K 582.14 | Herbaceous shrubs and vines |
K 582.16 | Trees |
K 583 | Dicotyledones |
K 584 | Monocotyledones |
K 585 | Gymnospermae |
K 586 | Cryptogamia (Seedless plants) |
K 587 | Pteridophyta (Vascular cryptograms) |
K 588 | Bryophyta |
K 589 | Thallophyta |
K 741.6 | Botanical illustration |
Short Loans Shelf
Reserve or short loan items are kept on wooden shelf next to loans desk. They are open to users to read in the library as long as the library is open. Items on the top three shelves can be borrowed for overnight weekdays and for weekend on Fridays. Fourth shelf items are private books owned by lecturers and the Biological Science department.
Library Staff

Study Spaces

Interlibrary Loans
Referencing Help
Subject Librarians
Notices
-
More 24/7 study spaces available to all UCT students from Tues 22 Aug 2023
-Dear students and staff
The following library spaces will be available to all UCT students as new 24/7 study spaces from Tuesday 22 August 2023 onwards.
- Vincent Kolbe Knowledge Commons (Main Library)
Access after-hours from the North Staircase next to the Steve Biko Building. - Brand van Zyl Law Library
Access from 5pm to 8am for all UCT students.
All the libraries will still close at 10 pm, after which the 24/7 study spaces will come into operation. Please visit our library hours for more information.
Regards
UCT Libraries - Vincent Kolbe Knowledge Commons (Main Library)
Bolus Herbarium Collection
In the early 1900s, two artists, Mary Page and Beatrice Carter, were employed by the Bolus Herbarium to illustrate a hugely diverse family of succulent plants, which are almost endemic to Southern Africa. These are illustrations of species of the plant family Aizoaceae (Vygies). Their delicate, precise and vividly coloured botanical drawings are now freely accessible online.
Explore the Collection Plant Datasets

Digital Collections
rePhotoSA
A historical and repeat photography archive of southern African landscapes by the Plant Conservation Unit, Biological Sciences.
Our History
The Bolus Herbarium Library owes its existence to Harry Bolus, a businessman, amateur botanist, and botanical artist, who, on his death in 1911, bequeathed his herbarium, his botanical library, and a large part of his fortune to the South African College, now the University of Cape Town. Learn more
