The Wits Library

The Wits library is a vital resource-and one that is in great need of immediate funding to aquire essential book collections and build a much-needed IT infrastructure.

Further information on the Library may be found at the following website:  www.wits.ac.za/library.


Situation

The University of the Witwatersrand is located at the economic hub of the sub-region within ready access to the leading stakeholders in all sectors of business. The University has played a major role in liberating individuals from social injustice in the anti-apartheid struggle and from ignorance through the provision of access to information, ensuring that the learning cycle continues to push forward the boundaries of knowledge.

Over the past several years the Library's ability to provide information services that are innovative and flexible, in support of the University's mission of teaching and learning, research, outreach and partnerships in a high calibre learning environment, has deteriorated alarmingly. The blame for this embarrassing state of affairs can be laid firmly at the door of a combination of on-going budget cuts, the very high cost internationally of books, journals and electronic databases, and currency fluctuations.

Professional staff in the Library are demoralised by the state of their collections and are frequently on the receiving end of anger and criticism about the poor coverage of subject areas and the lack of funding to order new books reviewed in the professional literature. For example, the School of Mining Engineering, recognised as one of the top schools in the world, was able to order only 15 books from a ludicrously inadequate allocation of R 8334 in 2003.


Proposal

We are currently seeking funding of information resources and information technology infrastructure for the library.

Since the early 1980s the Library has been cutting down on its print journal collection because of budget constraints and only a few new titles have been added. Many of the journals are now available electronically but without adequate IT facilities we are in no position financially to satisfy the huge demand for access. Evolving scholarly communication channels, as well as user needs, make it imperative that electronic access to books, journals and databases be provided. However, this cannot be done satisfactorily unless the IT infrastructure is upgraded. Ageing computers and inadequate networks have to be replaced and in particular a downloading/printing system installed.

The Library consists of the Main Library (Wartenweiler Library), the Special Collections Library (William Cullen Library) and fourteen branch / satellite libraries and special collections spread widely across three campuses. Part time and block release users, and users in surrounding regions at a distance from the campus (staff and students) access information resources from their offices and homes. The Library supports not only students ­ approx. 25,000 were enrolled in 2004 ­ and academic staff of the University but also, through regional and national agreements, those of other higher education institutions in South and southern Africa. For example Wits Library is a prominent member of the Gauteng and Environs Library Consortium (GAELIC).

Besides attempting to service the needs of these users, the Library also tries to assist students who are unable to purchase their own prescribed textbooks. The majority of these studenta are from disadvantaged backgrounds and are under-prepared for the demands of university life. The modest assistance from the Library provides loan collections of small numbers of such textbooks.


Funding Needs

The Library budget has two core elements, the book collections and IT infrastructure.

First we need the first to bring the collections up to date. Of the approximately 508,000 books held in the Library's computerised catalogue, 313,430 were published prior to 1980 and 184,000 were published prior to 1999. Of the approximately 130,000 books published in the US and UK between 2000 and 2003, Wits could only afford to purchase around 11,000 (less than 8%). The cost of books is borne almost entirely by the University itself; only some 1% comes from donor sources.

We believe it will take an estimated R 17 million ($2.9 million) spread over three years to remedy the situation. It is proposed that 25% of the funding be applied to the library as a whole for the purchase of electronic journals and databases, multiple copies of text books, multimedia, reference material, archival papers, collection development in Africana and government publications, and so forth. The next 60% would be applied to the collections held for the University's five Faculties, Commerce Law Management, Engineering & The Built Environment, Health Sciences, Humanities & Social Sciences, and Science.

Second, we will allocate the remaining 15% (R 3 million or $500,000) for IT infrastructure. Existing IT equipment falls far short of the minimum necessary for a university of the magnitude of Wits to provide a reasonably satisfactory service to its users. The equipment is also out-dated and, to further aggravate matters, is connected to networks that are in urgent need of upgrading. The overall effect is to slow down and frustrate user access very considerably.

Part of this effort is already under way. 2 years ago, University authorities began the process of turning matters around by injecting some R 12 million ($2 million) into the Library budget for urgently needed building alterations. The alterations have prepared the library for high speed, quality controlled access and has transformed the building into a more modular and user friendly facility. The building improvements have laid the foundation for restoring the Library to its former position as a leading library in sub-Saharan Africa. The efforts to date have also given encouragement to library staff to work towards achieving that end and regaining the pride hitherto held in their Library.