Cambridge University Libraries share a profound sense of sadness at the devastating fire on 18 April at the University of Capetown, which affected the Jagger Reading Room housing the African Studies Library and Special Collections.
On behalf of the University Libraries, the University Librarian has written to Ujala Satgoor, Executive Librarian for UCT to express our solidarity and offer to help.
A number of our librarians, archivists and academics have strong connections to South Africa, including through the African Studies Library at the Centre for African Studies and the wider membership of the UK Libraries and Archives Group on Africa (SCOLMA). Both the Universities of Cape Town and Cambridge are also members of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), with an active international group of librarians.
With our colleagues across Research Libraries UK, we know what it means to be custodians of national heritage, and how heartbreaking the loss is for staff and students of UCT, and for world scholarship.
We understand from statements issued by UCT that the library and campus teams continue to assess the damage, and we wait to learn what help will be most useful.
Further information about the fire can be found via UCT News https://bit.ly/32ywVCy.