30th World Veterinary Congress, Cape Town 2011

Celebrating the 250th anniversary of the veterinary medical profession in the world, a history session was included in the program of the 30th World Veterinary Congress, held in Cape Town in October 2011. The Jotello F. Soga Library librarians participated in this session by presenting a paper (see details below). Libraries have a most important role in preserving and documenting historical developments so this paper was definitely a highlight. To read the full text click on the link given.

The authors focused on the importance of making valuable and scarce veterinary information available on an open access platform such as an institutional repository, to ensure the preservation of the veterinary history of a country.

http://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/568

http://hdl.handle.net/2263/17556

The digital preservation of the history of veterinary science in South Africa

authors: Amelia Breytenbach, Antoinette Lourens and Susan Marsh
Jotello F.Soga Library, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria

ABSTRACT

The history of Veterinary Science in South Africa can only be appreciated, studied, researched and passed on to coming generations if historical sources are readily available. Material and sources with historical value in any country are often difficult to locate, are often dispersed over a large area and not part of the conventional book and journal literature. The Faculty of Veterinary Science of the University of Pretoria and its library have access to a large collection of historical sources. The collection consists of photos, slides, documents, proceedings, posters, audiovisual material, postcards and other memorabilia. Other institutions in the country are also being approached if relevant sources are identified in their collections. In 2006 the University of Pretoria’s institutional repository, UPSpace, was launched. This provided the Jotello F Soga library with the opportunity to populate the repository with relevant digitised collections of diverse heritage and learning resources that can contribute to the long term preservation and accessibility of historical veterinary sources. These collections can be utilised not only by historians and researchers in South Africa but also Africa and the rest of the world.


Description:

Paper presented at the 30th World Veterinary Congress: 'Caring for animals: healthy communities', Cape Town, South Africa, 10-14 October 2011.