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+27 (046) 622 2582
Private Bag 1019
· 6140
Grahamstown · South Africa
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NELM’s new building will be South Africa’s first green museum and Grahamstown’s first green building. Architect Rob Gillard of CIBA Consortium in East London has registered the project with the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) and aims to achieve a 4 Star Green Star rating: Design. The project has been selected as a pilot project for the Public and Education Buildings Rating Tool under development by the GBCSA. The Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) asked Gillard to display the building plans at the recent COP17 in Durban where the Minister of Arts and Culture, Mr Paul Mashatile, made his first public announcement about the project, which is costing DAC in the region of a hundred million rand. |
MISSION
The mission of the National
English Literary Museum is to maintain and extend
the nation's leading collection of southern African English literary heritage
and to serve as a source of expertise through exemplary research, conservation,
exhibitions and public programmes
VISION
The National
English Literary Museum champions the cause
of the humane values such as tolerance, acceptance and inclusivity so nobly and
memorably embodied in our literature. All South Africans who write
creatively and imaginatively in English have a place in our museum, irrespective
of their origin, mother tongue, personal convictions or age. Furthermore,
all South Africans appreciate the significance of this body of work and its
contribution to world literature
FUNCTIONS
NELM's principal
functions are to collect and conserve material evidence pertaining to this literature, to
publicise and popularise it, and to provide all sections of the reading public, both
locally and abroad, with the means of access to it.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
Hours
of opening: Monday to Friday, 08h30 - 13h00,
14h00 - 16h30
The Museum started in 1972 as a collection of documents and has grown, over the years, into a national resource funded principally by the Central Government, and was declared cultural institution on 18 April 1980. NELM currently falls under the Cultural Institutions Act 119 (1998).
The artefacts of the Museum are literary - the imaginative and creative writings in English of southern African writers, regardless of their mother tongue. There are three chief collections from the past and present
Where possible we keep unpublished manuscripts and drafts as well as proofs, diaries, and private correspondence;
We collect all genres of creative or imaginative writing published by Southern African authors: poetry, plays, novels, short stories, diaries, memoirs, journals and travelogues, including books for children;
Critical matter about Southern African authors - their lives, words and works recorded in the daily press and in learned journals.
These collections are physically present for anyone to consult, and the bibliographic information is also accessible in separate electronic databases.
NELM collects and conserves material, and also aims to serve all reading communities.
How do we do this?
In three broad ways:
Database searches can be done on individual authors. Anyone who requires information in connection with Southern African English literature can call upon the Research Department in person or via letter, telephone, fax or e-mail.
A diversified outreach programme takes information about our literature to scholars and students. We do this by means of: travelling exhibitions, story reading programmes, outdoor exploration camps in collaboration with environmental educationalists. BACK PACKS relating to set works and introductions to individual writers produced by NELM are available for sale to schools.
an associated research institute of rhodes university
Last updated 27-Feb-2013