New appointment

Ms Maphefo Maake was appointed as Manager Information Services at our Mafikeng Campus from 1 January 2021. She worked at Mintek where she was responsible for the provision of information service to researchers, library collection management, information and knowledge management, supervision and quality management. She started her career in Information Services in 1996 at the University of Johannesburg.

The LIS wishes to extend a hearty welcome to Maphefo. We wish you many successful years in the NWU LIS team!

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We say goodbye to Anriëtte

Our dear colleague, Anriëtte Pretorius, retired in December 2020 after 44 years of dedicated service to the NWU Library and Information Service. Her contribution to the organization and running of the collections, databases and excellent service delivery cannot be underestimated. She was known as an informed professional who did not shy away from challenges and change – she was an inspiration and force to be reckoned with and will be sorely missed by colleagues and patrons alike.

Anriëtte started her library career in 1977 as a Cataloguer at the Ferdinand Postma Library in Potchefstroom. Many of the books in our collection passed through her hands.

In August of 1984 she accepted the position of Branch Librarian at the Natural Sciences Library. She trained and supported numerous new researchers, lecturers and students over the span of more than 30 years. The book and journal collections were well managed, and with her exceptional knowledge of different subject fields, she recommended new resources and software as needed by users. She was a pioneer in the ordering and establishment of e-collections for different subject fields. She built strong relationships with the Faculties of Engineering, Natural Sciences and Health Sciences and they will miss her expertise and unwavering support.

We wish Anriëtte a happy and healthy retirement. With her creativity we know that she will find lots to do with the time on her hands.

The LIS will miss you!

LIS virtual end-year meeting

During a virtual meeting on 9 December 2020, the LIS had the opportunity to reflect on 2020 – an extraordinary and challenging year. The LIS is grateful that Prof Robert Balfour, DVC for Teaching and Learning could also join the event.

In his address, Prof Balfour remarked that our state of readiness is reflective of our state of functionality.  Covid-19 made areas of vulnerability much more evident, but due to the LIS areas of strength, we excelled.  The users were not able to visit the physical library, but the LIS was ready to step up, ready to serve and ready to change.  He congratulated the staff for their ability to function collegially amidst great stress.  We stuck together and we made it work.

Dr Moyo, Chief Director of the LIS had a word of thanks for the LIS staff.  He mentioned that the LIS always had a focus on the physical and online library.  With the onset of the pandemic, it was easy to migrate to online only.  Statistics show that users made optimal use of the online resources and LibGuides during the lockdown.  We are grateful for the staff who provided services during difficult circumstances.  The LIS is also thankful for the support and ethics of care from the University Management.

Unfortunately, the LIS had to say goodbye to some colleagues during 2020.

Resignations

Two senior staff members from the library on Mafikeng Campus have resigned:

	Ms Manare Tshenye (Senior Manager Campus Operations) and
	Mr Siviwe Bangani (Manager Information Services)

and Faculty Librarians:

	Mr Katlego Chiya
	Ms Boitumelo Masilo

Retirement

Two staff members went on retirement:

Ms Maniza Ndwande after a service of 39 years

Ms Anriëtte Pretorius, Senior Librarian at the Natural Sciences Branch Library, who has served the NWU LIS for 44 years

New appointments during 2020

Welcome and congratulations to the following colleagues

	Mr Lizwi Njani (Business Analyst – Library Systems, Potchefstroom)
	Ms Banele Khoza (Faculty Librarian, Potchefstroom)
	Ms Maria Lesele (Faculty Librarian, Vanderbijlpark)
	Mr Simon Molebeleli (Shelf Assistant, Potchefstroom)
	Mr Tebogo Morajane (Temporary Faculty Librarian, Mafikeng)

Dr Moyo concluded to thank the Library Systems Section for their hard work and support, with special mentioning of Mr Lucas van den Heever who reached out to all staff members to ensure connectivity and IT support where needed.

In the year ahead the necessary skills and resources are essential.  Faculty Librarians will have to reach out to academic staff, making them aware of electronic resources – especially to from part of prescribed material.

Closing remarks were done by Ms Neli Kaunda, Director Shared Services. She announced that every LIS staff member is entitled to a voucher that can be obtained at the Brand Store on each campus.

We say goodbye to Boitumelo

Ms Boitumelo Masilo has resigned and will leave us at the end of October to take up another position at the Sol Plaatje University.

Boitumelo joined the NWU LIS in October 2017 as Faculty Librarian, Information Services at Mahikeng. In this position she supported students, researchers and academic staff in the faculties of Humanities, Law and Theology. She was active in many projects of the library. She has a passion for reading and was co-founder of the Bokamoso literature club at Mahikeng Campus Library. She was very involved in marketing and outreach initiatives. She co-authored 3 papers which were published in accredited journals, and contributed to the LIASA-In-Touch magazine on a regular basis.

Boitumelo, your presence and contributions will be missed – we wish you all the best in your new position!

Acting Manager: Information Resources

Library Management wishes to express sincere gratitude to Ms Carine Basson for her contribution in coordinating work in the sections for Information Resources department in the last three months. This is very much appreciated. Since the contract ended in August, Mr Benford Rabtseta assumes the same responsibilities in acting capacity in the interim.

 

The recruitment process for the permanent manager is being finalized by People and Culture.

Figshare Awareness Week

This week we are launching an awareness campaign for the NWU Figshare repository, DaYta Ya Rona.

Figshare is a web-based interface designed for academic research data management and research data dissemination. Figshare was originally created as a solution to keep research outputs in one tidy place whilst allowing it to be discovered by like-minded individuals: the academic community. It quickly became apparent that others sought such a resource and Figshare opened its doors. Figshare enables academics to upload, share, cite and importantly discover all manner of research outputs with the security of knowing our hosting options and platform support long term preservation of data. Researchers keep control of what and how they share their research data.

Easy steps to upload research on Figshare:

1. Log in / register
2. Create a new item OR drag and drop files from your browser
3. Insert the title
4. Add authors
5. Select a category
6. Select item
7. Add keywords (as many as needed)
8. Write a description, be descriptive as you can
9. Funding can be added
10. Select a licence

Tick Publish once all the information has been added

Watch the video for more information https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kld9DRSnRBM&list=PL83jqndLu-uALFbLn62Jp3qdh0lwyPXgw

For more assistance, please contact your faculty librarian http://library.nwu.ac.za/information-services-and-faculty-librarians

Upload your Research Data to DaYta Ya Rona https://dayta.nwu.ac.za/

Gerda Beukman: Faculty Librarian

Staff News

New appointment

Maria Lesele was appointed as Faculty Librarian (Vanderbijlpark) from 1 July 2020.

Maria completed her Honours degree in Information Sciences and started at the University of Pretoria Library in 2011. She was appointed as Information Assistant at the Education Library and then moved to the Law Library as a Senior Information Assistant.

Maria, may you find fulfillment in your new position. We welcome you to the NWU LIS team!

News on LIS infrastructure projects

As with most other matters, the LIS infrastructure projects were hugely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The renovation at Mafikeng Library was almost completed when construction came to a halt end of March. It seems however that construction will resume any day now. After project completion, the library will boast with a renovated Law Library and 24hr study area, as well as a brand new Information Commons for undergraduate students. We are looking forward to the completion of this project!

The planning process to extend and renovate the Education Library (Potchefstroom) gained momentum. The architectural plans have been approved and the intended start of the project will be in the last quarter of 2020.

The spaces of the current Education Library will be repurposed and the EduLab space will be converted into a quiet study area. Additional workspaces and power plugs will be added throughout the library.

A double-story extension will be added to the front of the library.

Ground floor:
The ground floor will host a copy shop and also the new EduLab, with a collaborative and connected working space for 104 students.

Modern ‘Wimpy-like” benches will be installed and throughout the area will be ample plugs for laptops and other devices.

Six group study rooms will be equipped with LED screens, whiteboards and power points on the tables.

First floor:

The first floor will have at least 54 computer workstations and 17 individual study cubicles, also equipped with power points.

A lift will be installed for users with disabilities.

More news and architectural plans on infrastructure projects.

Staff News

New appointment

Mr. Lizwi Njani was appointed as Business Analyst in the Library Systems section. He has already started on 1 April 2020. Lizwi is not new to the NWU, as he has been working as a Developer at IT Business Systems Development and Support since 2018.

He has obtained a BCom Honours in Information Systems from the University of Fort Hare.

Lizwi, we welcome you to the LIS team. We wish you all the best in your new role!

Staff News

Acting Manager: Information Resources

The appointment of the new Manager Information Resources is still pending and in progress. The lockdown has an impact on the delayed process.

We would like to extend our gratitude to Ms Molly Kekana for holding the fort for a considerable period of time as acting Manager: Information Resources. The LIS Senior Management extended their appreciation for her contribution and support during a recent EXCO meeting.

 

Carine Basson takes over the reigns to act as Manager: Information Resources from 1 June 2020 until the position is permanently filled. We are grateful that Carine will keep operations going. She is currently based at Potchefstroom campus. As Senior Librarian: Electronic Resource Management and Periodicals her role cuts across the 3 campuses, particularly in e-Resources. We wish Carine success during this period.