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Albany Museum Library
Text by Ayanda Pantsi, edited and compiled by Ashley H.
Kirk-Spriggs
The Library was established
soon after the founding of the Albany
Museum in 1855 and
during the early years acquired a small but valuable collection of 17th,
18th and 19th century natural history books. The
Library was largely unaffected by the great fire of September 1941
and the majority of the library materials were rescued by students from Rhodes University. Some early items do,
however, exhibit water and fire damage.
At present the holdings
consist of approximately 6,500 book titles, covering the fields of natural
and human sciences (including rare Africana);
10,500 journal titles (some long-standing runs); reprints, maps and other
documents. Research
departments
of the Museum also maintain libraries and collections of related off-prints
which are accessible. The Library also maintains the donated libraries of
leading figures such as John Hewitt and Reginald
Lawrence.
The Museum Library participates in the South African Inter-Library Loan
system and serves research, curatorial and lecturing staff, students and
members of the public.
 
Two examples of plates from
rare books in the Albany Museum Library: (left) hand-coloured plate (26) of Stapelia from
L.B. Pole Evans’ The flowering plants
of South Africa, published in 1921 and (right) a wood cut from (plate I)
from Vaillant’s travels in the interior parts of Africa,
published in 1796
Objectives
- The
objectives of the Albany Museum Library are to supply, from its own
stock and/or other sources, literature and/or information required for
the curation of the Museum’s collections, their display, educational programmes
and staff research projects. To perform this function the Museum Library
shall acquire material related to the Museum’s various fields of
specialisation, and organise this in such a manner as to allow retrieval
at the require depth wherever possible.
- To
safeguard and preserve such materials as are entrusted to us by the
application of appropriate and adequate conservation methods and
controlled reader services.
- To
assist researchers and the general public with such queries as may fall within the scope of the Museum’s broad
functions; directing them where necessary to the professional curatorial
staff.
 Exchange Programme
The Albany Museum Library handles the
exchange programme, whereby libraries of the museums in the Eastern Cape receive journals and other
materials from ca. 200 libraries
worldwide in exchange for the Annals of
the Eastern Cape Museums (previously the Annals
of the Cape Provincial Museums, which appeared in two series:
Natural History and Human Sciences).
Contents of all the serial publication
of the Albany Museum can be viewed and copies of the
Annals ordered through the library
at cost (see Serial
Publication of the Albany Museum).
To fulfil its role as a research
library the Albany Museum Library shall operate within the framework of the
objectives outlined above. The Librarian shall be responsible to the Manager
of the Albany Museum, or her appointed Deputy for
the implementation of library policy as indicated below:
In broad
outline the Librarian shall be responsible for:
- Overall
administration of the library, including drafting policy change which
may be made in consultation with the Manager or his Deputy. Any such
policy statements or changes shall be submitted by the Manager to the
Board of Trustees for approval.
- Direct supervision
of such staff as may be employed in the library. This includes
delegation of such responsibilities as the Librarian may deem suitable
to such staff, the Librarian nevertheless remaining responsible for the
efficient administration of the Library.
- Drafting
and implementation of the annual library budget, which shall be
submitted to the Manager for approval.
- Selection
and acquisition by purchase, exchange or donation, of books, documents,
periodicals and other information sources relevant to the Museum’s
policies.
- Responsibility
for ordering, authorisation of payments, and all correspondence in
connection with orders, donations and exchanges is that of the
Librarian. As the main volume of the Museum’s periodical holdings are
received in exchange for the Annals
of the Eastern Cape Museums, the active promotion and maintenance of this
exchange system is also the responsibility of the Librarian. Selection
of material shall be made in consultation with the relevant staff and
Curators, as well as with the Manager or her Deputy.
- Organisation
and documentation of the library holdings (book stock, historical
documents, periodicals, photographs, maps, newspapers and reprints) for
information retrieval. This involves inter
alia: accessioning of book stock, historical documents, photographs
and maps; classification and subject indexing of book stock; cataloguing
and subject indexing of documents, maps, photographs; maintaining the
records of periodical holdings; binding; recording of all off-prints
received, and indexing of the material not routed to the departmental
Libraries (Curators are responsible for the organisation and
documentation of reprints pertinent to their collections.); and all
correspondence related to the above.
Conservation
of library holdings:
It is the responsibility of the
Librarian to ensure that the Museum’s library holdings are adequately housed,
maintained and protected, according to the Accredited Standards of the South
African Museums Association.
Such services
include:
- Adequate
housing of the Documents Collection and enforcement of regulations
governing the Collection.
- Binding
of the periodical stock.
- Low ultra-violet
lightening and window shading to eliminate fading and temperature
extremes.
- Supervise
use of rare books and documents which shall be housed under lock and key
or in a fire-proof safe according to value.
- Out-of-hours
control by an electric alarm system.
- Fire
protection by means of an installed smoke and fire detection system and
fire control by means of suitable fire extinguishers.
- Promoting
use of the library’s holdings by the issue of required literature, by
participating in the State Library’s Inter-Library Loan system, by
contributing to PISAL, UNICAT (the State Library’s Joint Catalogue of
Books in Southern African Libraries) and NAREM (National Register for
Manuscripts). An adequate issue system shall be maintained and the
regulations governing the use of the library shall be displayed in some
prominent place at the entrance to the library. Such regulations be
changed from time to time, but all changed shall be authorised by the
Director.
- Maintenance
of reference service to the staff and broader academic community and an
enquiry service to the public as indicated under objectives.
- Mailing
of the Annals
of the Eastern Cape Museums on behalf of the Albany Museum and the other A
grade museums, viz., East
London Museum, Amathole Museum at King
Williams Town, and Bay World Museum at Port Elizabeth. Mailing of the Annals involves supervision of
the mechanics of mailing, updating of address lists, correspondence
relating to the balance of exchanges, sales, and ensuring that any new
exchange partnerships offered are directed to the relevant museum(s).
- Bibliographic
or other research which is of advantage to the Museum, its staff and/or
the public. Emphasis shall depend upon the qualifications and specialist
interests of the Librarian.
Rules &
regulations for library users
Visitors to
the Library of the Albany
Museum are requested to
abide by the following set of rules and guidelines:
- First-time
users/borrowers should inform the librarian.
- Access
to the library and library materials is at the discretion of the
Librarian and/or the Manager of the Albany Museum
and may be denied.
- The
removal of unbound journals and other library materials is not permitted
without the prior consent of the Librarian or the Manager of the Albany Museum in her absence.
- Photocopying
by non-staff members should be undertaken by the librarian and is
charged at a cost of 30 cents per page.
- Copyright
laws must be abided by, but remain the sole responsibility of the user.
- Tearing
and marking of pages is prohibited in any form.
- Mutilated
or damaged books and journals should be reported to the librarian
immediately.
- Access
to rare and fragile items is at the discretion of the Librarian and may
be denied.
- Visiting
researchers are required to contact the relevant Curator of the Museum
prior to undertaking library research.
- Cellphones should be switched off before entering the
library.
- Laptops
are permitted in the library, but the playing of music and other
auditory devices is not permitted.
- The
consumption of food and drink is prohibited.
- Silence
it to be maintained at all times.
- Neither the Librarian nor the Trustees of the Albany Museum shall not be held
accountable for the theft/loss of personal articles, or for personal
injury incurred by users while on Museum premises.
Library Staff
& Contact details
All
library-related enquires should be directed to:
Ayanda Pantsi
(Librarian)
 Phone: 046-622-2312, ext. 232
Fax: 046 622 2398
E-mail address: a.pantsi@ru.ac.za
Mailing address:
Albany Museum Library
Albany Museum
Somerset Street
Grahamstown
6139
South Africa
The Librarian
is responsible for the following duties:
- Information
services
- Lending
Services
- Circulation
- Inter-Library
Loans
- Collections
& Technical Services
- Acquisition
- Cataloguing
- Periodicals
- Distribution
& posting of the Annals
Library
opening hours:
Monday–Thursday: 09h00–13h00
14h00–16h30
Fridays: 09h00–13h00
14h00–16h00
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