Special Collections

About Us

The Special Collections unit was separated from the Humanities Faculty Library in April 2007 but its inception dates back to 1934 when the nucleus Africana collection was established by P.C. Coetzee, later professor in Library Science and chief librarian at U.P.

Mandate

Special Collections plays a stewardship role in the collection, preservation, interpretation and marketing of the Department of Library Services' rare and/or valuable information resources and in making them available for research, according to the corporate policy for the University of Pretoria's heritage collections

Vision

To be a centre of excellence in our chosen focus areas

Mission

Developing a new Africana collection with a focus on Southern Africa in the fields of historical and heritage studies, arts, indigenous crafts and fauna and flora
Focusing on the collection of Pretoriana material
Developing a representative UP Publications collection
Preserving the old collections
Enabling research by increasing the global visibility of all collections and providing adequate facilities
Participating in digitization projects to enhance e-research and to preserve resources

See collections