Rhodes University Library Expansion Given The Go Ahead

New Expanded Rhodes Library

After two-and-a-half years of extensive research and planning, the Rhodes University Council has approved the construction of an expanded library building on the Grahamstown campus. The new building will incorporate the existing structure and will effectively double its size. The budget for the project is set at R90 million and is being funded by a combination of own funds, public money and donor contributions. Construction is due to begin within the next two weeks and is scheduled to take 2 years to complete.

The new library will add significant capacity to Rhodes by embracing new and evolving teaching and learning trends as a means of enhancing a learning experience that is unmatched by any other South African university. With just over 6 200 students and 300 academic staff, Rhodes has the country's most favourable staff-to-student ratio, enabling it to provide a quality contact-learning experience to each new generation of leaders. With the highest undergraduate pass rate and the highest per capita research output of any South African university, Rhodes is highly regarded for its rigorous academic programmes and its degrees and graduates are internationally renowned.

Heralding an important era in the quest for understanding and knowledge, this strategic project will benefit future generations of Rhodes students, and the Eastern Cape region and South Africa as a whole. The existing Rhodes University Library opened in 1961 to house 100 000 volumes. Today it holds over 450 000, many of which are rare, whilst a large proportion are currently housed elsewhere across the campus. Similarly, the student body has grown exponentially over the past decade alone and the current library, given the valuable growth in its collections, seats less than 10 percent of its users. Furthermore, the Rhodes University Library operates on an open library policy and prides itself on making available its comprehensive information resources to the wider community of Grahamstown. It is also a significant resource for other tertiary institutions as well as for the wider Eastern Cape community and the expansion project thus recognises the critical importance of meeting current and future demands.

Changing trends, including the introduction of computer technology and on-line academic information resources have altered the patterns of student library usage. This trend coincides with interactive peer learning approaches which require group study areas with far greater computer access. In line with other international academic libraries, the new Rhodes library will enable an interactive learning environment, providing supported access to print and electronic information. The expanded Rhodes library will offer a variety of flexible study spaces, catering for different user needs and progressive changes to teaching and learning trends. In addition, access and facilities for physically challenged users will be addressed.

The true heart of the Rhodes University campus and its centre of learning and knowledge transfer, the new library’s technologically enhanced facilities will ensure that academic excellence continues as a trademark of Rhodes University.