2005 Annual Report - University of Pretoria VET Library

Academic Information Service
Annual Report 2005

Service Unit: VETERINARY SCIENCE
Review. 2005’s main activity was the organizing of the 5th International Conference of Animal Health Information Specialists. The Service Unit hosted the conference at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, 4-7 July 2005. Pre-conference workshops were also organized and run by the SU, from 29 June – 2 July. As part of our conference activities we developed a blog to market and record the conference : www.knowledgeflows.blogspot.com

This conference is mainly for veterinary librarians across the world and usually takes place every 3-4 years. This was the first time it was held in Africa. We managed to obtain funds for 7 colleagues from other African countries to attend it. The CTA (Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation) in The Netherlands gave the funds.

2005 also saw the introduction of our online module in Information Literacy as part of the Research Methodology course presented by the Faculty to their postgraduate students. This is a first in the Academic Information Service being totally electronic with assignments which are marked by the Information Specialists of the SU.

The SU continued with its digitization projects and the Theiler Collection was featured on UPSpace as part of the institutional repository of UP.

The increase in the number of veterinary information sources being published necessitated additional allocation of funds. We spent a total of R330,000 (?) on books and CDs/DVDs. (Journals and e-resources have separate funds)

We initiated a special hands-on Internet training course for 5th year students which proved our most popular training item so far.

Highlights
5th International Conference of Animal Health Information Specialists. The Service Unit hosted the conference at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, 4-7 July 2005. Pre-conference workshops were also organized and run by the SU, from 29 June – 2 July. The poster session was the largest one ever held at one of these conferences. GROUP PHOTO: 5th International Conference of Animal Health Information Specialists (ICAHIS).
4-7 July 2005, University of Pretoria, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Onderstepoort, South Africa.
Participants of 5 ICAHIS – 4 July 2005

With the theme “Running wild, running free: capturing, harnessing and disseminating knowledge flows in support of animal health” this conference brought information specialists from both developed and developing countries together to share knowledge and expertise in the critical animal health information field.


Theiler Collection on UPSpace (See comments above)

Training: How to search the Internet effectively and evaluate the information you find on the Web (hands-on course for BVSc V students). (See comments above)

Alignment with AI/UP strategic plans
Organising and hosting the conference supported the AI/UP strategic plan to become an internationally recognized leader and role player in the information environment.
It also helped with our networking aim, to communicate and position ourselves and build partnerships, locally and internationally.

Our digitization project, the Theiler Collection, enhanced with metadata developed by Amelia Breytenbach, is aligned with the e-strategy of the AI.
This is a leading e-product, paving the way for similar initiatives elsewhere in the AI and/or South Africa.

Our Internet Training module as well as our online Research Methodology course module is aligned with the AI strategy of becoming a role-player in the virtual information arena, also supporting the e-strategy of the AI and UP.


Challenges

The inadequate bandwidth available to UP clients and staff is a serious hindrance.

Funds for books not sufficient to cover all areas needed by our clients.



Statistics (PLEASE CONSULT GERDA.)

Information Resources (Books, CDs/DVDs) issued: 15,410
E-journals available to UP users:
E-books available :
Database searches done by clients and staff:
Interloans: Requests received from other libraries: 1486
Requests submitted to other libraries: 1416

Collection Management: new orders placed:
No. of items catalogued:

No.of theses catalogued: