Highlights 2007 continued

PHYSICAL SPACE / FACILITIES

Circulation desk : the old cumbersome one was dismantled in July and the new streamlined one installed.

Carpets: new carpets were laid in the area surrounding the Circulation desk including the Reserved Collection area.

Shelves : additional shelves were installed on the upper level for the expanding book collection, as well as downstairs in the Reserved Collection. This has helped to improve access to books and facilitate their correct placement on the shelves.

These improvements have helped to increase staff morale leading to improved output as well as job satisfaction!

VIRTUAL SPACE

There were 3 notable developments in our Virtual information environment in 2007:

- UPSpace collection added, namely the Christine Seegers Biomedical Illustrations : The Elephant (https://www.up.ac.za/dspace/handle/2263/1971)

This is an example of the successful collaboration of the information specialist / metadata specialist, the lecturer who described the illustrations, and the artist.

- New Web Portals created: a) Disasters and Emergencies (http://www.ais.up.ac.za/vet/disaster/)

b) Poisonous plants (http://www.ais.up.ac.za/vet/poison/)

- the creation and management of the South African National Veterinary Repository - a collaborative effort of the Veterinary Science Library, University of Pretoria (UP) and the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute (OVI) (https://www.up.ac.za/dspace/handle/2263/3809)
with metadata supplied by Emeritus Professor Roy Tustin and digitised slides from the collections of the OVI and the Dept of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, UP