Library News

Niven Library News: Online catalogue and book sale

After experiencing some hiccoughs with the University of Cape Town's firewall, the Niven Library's Online Catalogue is back online for those of you trying to access it from outside UCT.

The Niven Library's 50th Anniversary Sale of ornithological books is still on and a revised list of books will be made available later this month (The current list can be downloaded here: Niven Library Book Sale). Alternatively, please consult the librarian, Margaret Koopman (fitzlib@uct.ac.za), for further information.

Niven Library Online Catalogue

Firewall problems are preventing access to the Niven Library's online catalogue but that we hope this will be in operation again shortly.

Niven Library access over holiday period

The Niven Library will only be accessible to people with access cards between 28 December 2010 and 10 January 2011 as there will be no library staff available to assist visitors.

Niven Library: Thursday 18 November - Friday 3 December

Margaret Koopman will be out of office until Monday 6 December. Phelisa Hans, the library assistant, will be available from 11h00 to 16h00 during the week should you require access to the library. If you require professional assistance during Margaret's absence, please contact Jen Eidelman, the Zoology subject librarian at UCT Library (Tel: 021 650 2773; email: Jen.Eidelman@uct.ac.za).

Niven Library 50th Anniversary Book Sale

The book sale opens on 6 December 2010!

The Niven Library at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute is holding a 50th Anniversary Sale of ornithological books. This is your chance to purchase out of print and collector’s books while at the same time supporting African ornithology. The funds raised from the sale of books will go back into purchasing additional books to expand and augment the present ornithological collection in the Niven Library.

The excellent book collection in the Niven Library (over 6,000 titles) is the result of 50 years of donations, bequests, exchanges and review books. Known as the premier ornithological library in the southern hemisphere, the library supplies African ornithological information to all corners of the world as well as supporting academic African ornithology and the birding public. The library is open for visitors to conduct research, at no charge, all year round.

The list of books available for sale can be downloaded here: Niven Library Book Sale.

Support African ornithology by supporting the Niven Library 50th Anniversary Sale!

Please note:

• Prices available on application
• Prices do not include postage
• Requests will be dealt with on a first come first serve basis from 6 December (the librarian will be out of office until then)

For more information, please contact:

Margaret Koopman
Phone: +27 (0)21 650-3305
Email: fitzlib@uct.ac.za

Niven Library closed on 11 August 2010

Please note that the Niven Library will be closed on Wednesday 11 August 2010.

Niven Library reading room closed on Wednesday 31 March 2010

The Niven Library reading room will be in use for an Important Bird Areas Workshop from 8h30 to 17h00 on Wednesday 31 March 2010.  The photocopier and journals in the stack area behind the librarian's office, however, will be available for use. If you have any queries, please consult the librarian, Margaret Koopman.

Library extensions

UCT space management requirements benefited the Niven Library in 2009 when Fitztitute staff and students were required to vacate their long-term premises in the PD Hahn building where there have been Fitztitute offices since June 1985. Two Niven Library offices were ear-marked for post-graduate offices – the 2nd floor storage room and the Richard Brooke office (nominally the librarian’s office in the past). This meant that equivalent floor area, fitted with compact storage, was required to accommodate the material previously stored in these offices. A Zoology Department storeroom adjacent to the Niven Library was identified as suitable space for compact storage and a doorway was created to link the two spaces with a short ramp to accommodate the height difference and enable a trolley to be moved between the areas. This, along with additional bays fitted into the journal and newsletter stack areas, has created about 5 years worth of growth for the library.

The new arrangement of housing all the Niven Library material on the same floor, in a continuous library space, has resulted in a much more efficient workflow and the opening up of two previously closed collections to library users.

CEPF affirmation for Internship/Database projects

The internship programme funded by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund which resulted in the development of the Fynbos i-Forum online database, and the SKEP database came to an end on 31 October 2008. Three interns have benefited from this programme and are now employed in special libraries in the Western Cape. Nomgcobo Ntsham is based at the SA Astronomical Observatory Library, Nomonde Sotashe is based at the Harry Molteno Library at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and Neziswa Nqayi is working at the Graduate Business School Library, UCT.

The close-out report from the CEPF (download report) regards the databases which have been developed by interns at the Niven Library as a valuable resource. The training component is seen as an added benefit and good use of their funding.

SKEP online database nearing completion

The internship programme funded by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund which resulted in the development of the Fynbos i-Forum online database, and the SKEP database will come to an end on 31 October 2008.

Both databases are available online as links on the Niven Library catalogue but will become merged as one database and transferred to the South African National Biodiversity Institute server at the end of the project.

The Internship programmes have been a partnership between the Niven Library at the University of Cape Town’s Percy Fitzpatrick Institute, SKEP, the Botanical Society of South Africa and C.A.P.E.

SKEP  online database

With the success of the Fynbos i-Forum online database, the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund approached the Niven Library with a view to providing further Internship funding in order to build a similar database for the Succulent Karoo Ecosystem Programme (SKEP). The database is now available online on this website and incorporates the Karoo Bibliography 1759-2007 made available by Prof Timm Hoffman of the Plant Conservation Unit (see below).

The Internship is a partnership between the Niven Library at the University of Cape Town’s Percy Fitzpatrick Institute, SKEP and the Botanical Society of South Africa.

Karoo Bibliography

A start-up database, the Karoo Bibliography 1759-2007 has generously been made available by Prof Timm Hoffman from the Plant Conservation Unit within the Botany Department at UCT. At present this database is available as a downloadable Endnote file or Excel file on the PCU webpage.

This bibliography will be converted to a searchable online database and expanded to include current published and unpublished material, including websites, relevant to SKEP partners in South Africa and Namibia.

Users can check that all their own publications are represented, and can submit additional citations to Neziswa, or report any errors found in the bibliography to the same address.