Special Collections - Collections

Special Collections

The collections are the following:

Africana Collection
South African Music Collections
Jurriaanse Collection
UP Publications Collection
Reserved Collection
Netherlands Cultural Institute Collection
Digital Collections

Africana Collection

The Africana collection consists of books in all disciplines limited to Africa south of the Sahara. Since 1980 the emphasis is on the Southern African region with special interest in material, published or unpublished, pertaining to Pretoria.

Housed and labelled separately but including many Africana works, are the collections of a number of eminent persons which have been acquired since the 1920’s:

- Prof J du Plessis, theologian at Stellenbosch.

- M M Nolte

- Rev L.E. Brandt and Rev van Warmeloo of the Dutch Reformed Church

- Adv J de V Roos, 1884-1940, auditor-general of the Union of South Africa, 1918-1929

- Muller and Van Belkum Collection, part of the library of the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk donated by Prof S.P Engelbrecht in 1923

- Lutherse Seminarium, donated by the Holland-Zuid-Afrikaanse Unie in 1939

- Sir J H Brand, President of the Orange Free State, 1864 - 1888

- T.F. Burgers, President of Transvaal, 1872 - 1877

A pamphlet collection consisting of approximately 11 000 items covering a wide range of subjects. It includes items dating from the late 19 th century and early 20 th century The collection is in the process of being catalogued on UPExplore.

Jurriaanse (JUR) Collection

Kept separately in its own room is the Jurriaanse (JUR) Collection. Dr Aardt Jurriaanse, a Dutchman, studied medicine in the Netherlands and came to South Africa during the Anglo Boer War with a medical corps in aid of the Boers. He stayed on in South Africa after the war and worked as a general practitioner in the Ermelo district of the old Transvaal where he also farmed until the end of his life. His collection of books covers the classics in literature and medicine.

UP Publications (TUK)

This collection consists of publications by the staff, research units/student bodies or any association/organization of the University of Pretoria Also included are all publications that deal with the University of Pretoria or publications that were published with financial assistance from the University of Pretoria.

Masters & Doctoral research outputs of UP students are regarded and preserved as special UP Publications. This collection contains a copy of each and every dissertation/thesis by Masters and Doctoral students enrolled at all the faculties at the University of Pretoria. In 2004 university policy made the submission of a thesis/dissertation in an electronic format compulsory. The electronic copy is now regarded as the preservation copy .

Reserved Collection

The collection is made op of non-Africana books of antiquarian value and so-called high risk books that require protection/preservation. It includes classic works in the fields of medicine and mathematics. Other interesting items are first edition facsimiles of Da Vinci's notebooks, 17 th and 18 th century Bibles and 19 th century works on European arts and literature.

Netherlands Cultural History Library (KHI & KHN) Collection

The collection is the most extensive Dutch collection in the Southern Hemisphere and consists of approximately 20 000 volumes covering all disciplines. Most of the old and rare books of this collection published before 1900 have been catalogued on UPExplore and separated from the main collection. These books are identified with the prefix KHIN. Some of the modern works have been integrated with the general collection of the Library, while the rest are housed in the Old Merensky Library. They are accessible only via a card catalogue, but are in the process of being catalogued on UPExplore. Read more ...

Digital Collections

These collections can be found on UPSpace, the digital research repository of the University of Pretoria.