UCT Libraries

We're ending Africa Month's series of blog posts with one about the African Studies Collection, by Busi Khangala, one of the Librarians in Special Collections.

This year marks 20 years since the ǂKhomani San Land Claim Agreement was signed at Molopo. Hugh Brody, a British anthropologist, writer and director, worked during the 1990s to document the project.

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.

Copyright is a limited-time monopoly. Which is a fancy way of saying that it doesn’t last forever. Eventually, it expires. Except when it doesn’t. How many things in South African archives have perpetual copyright? So very many.

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...