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.
Special Collections remains in recovery to rebuild and restore its world-renowned collections after the Jagger Library fire in 2021. Follow our recovery progress.
The African Studies Library pamphlet collection is regarded as one of UCT Libraries' greatest treasures. After surviving the Jagger Library fire, the complete collection was recently digitised for posterity and made discoverable.
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.
Our Libraries ED reflects on the two years since the Jagger Fire, marked by the launch of "The Book from the Ashes", and the unwavering recovery efforts of the Special Collections team.
Since the invention of pressure-sensitive tapes in the 1920’s, it became an ideal solution for a variety of applications. However, conservators know its long-term effects as disfiguring, damaging, and it is very very difficult to remove.
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.