History of branch libraries
Medicine and Health Sciences Library -
The Medicine and Health Sciences Library, previously known as the Medical Library and Tygerberg Campus Library, came into existence in 1957 with a humble collection of about 3 000 volumes of books and bound periodicals and 200 current periodical titles and was situated in a few small back rooms of the Karl Bremer Hospital in Bellville.
With the establishment of the Faculties of Medicine and Dentistry (now known as the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences), as well as the University teaching hospital in Tygerberg, the library was also moved to the Tygerberg campus.
Over the years the library underwent various transformations and moved several times. Since 1987 re-planning of the available space has resulted in maximum utilisation of user and office areas, and information services to teaching staff and students have been extended considerably.
In 2005 the Dentistry faculties of Stellenbosch University and the University of Western Cape (UWC) amalgamated, and all dentistry resources were moved to the UWC Dentistry Faculty Library, situated on the Tygerberg campus.
During 2017 the Medicine and Health Sciences Library moved to a temporary space in the basement of the Teaching building to allow the current space to be refurbished to suit changing client needs. The new library will become operational and re-open towards the end of January 2018.
Music Library
The teaching of music in Stellenbosch made great strides in the latter part of the nineteenth century and in 1900 it was felt that a central school of music should be founded. This led to the establishment of the “South African Conservatorium of Music”, the first of its kind in South Africa, in 1905.
The initial small collection of books only became a library when the Conservatorium was incorporated into the Stellenbosch University and became a department of the Faculty of Arts in 1934. In the beginning the library merely occupied a few shelves in the office of the then head of the Conservatorium, Prof Maria Fismer. Later a separate room was made available to house the growing collection consisting of a number of 78-speed records, a book catalogue and about 200 books donated to the University by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Between 1961 and 1964 the first two staff members were appointed and the task of creating order in the existing collection as well as in the numerous bequests commenced. Since then the Music Library has developed into one of the largest academic music libraries in the country with a well-appointed collection of various printed and audio-visual media in the subject field.
Music Library: Documentation Centre for Music (DOMUS)
DOMUS was founded at Stellenbosch University in 2005 as an initiative aimed at researching and conserving South Africa's rich musical heritage. The first Special Collections Librarian was appointed in August to sort the collection of conductor-composer Albert Coates, donated by Vera de Villiers (wife of Albert Coates), in 1957. Since then, DOMUS has acquired some of the most important archives of individuals and institutions pertaining to South African music, and postgraduate studies, research, conference presentations and projects based on materials located in DOMUS became more frequent.
Theology Library
The Theology Library, previously known as the Seminary Library, is not only the oldest branch library, but also the oldest library on campus. Since its establishment in 1859, the Theological Seminary was fortunate in being the recipient of valuable book donations from a variety of eminent theologians, ministers of the Dutch Reformed Church and members of the public. The Church gave the Seminary its support from the start and even before the Seminary was instituted, the Synod resolved to collect money for establishing a library. This support continues to this day.
In 1963 the Theological Seminary was incorporated into the Stellenbosch University as the Faculty of Theology. With this incorporation the then University Library acquired a large collection of valuable theological literature which formed the basis of the Theology Library as it stands today. The wide spectrum covered in its collection acquired over a period of more than 100 years contributes greatly to the quality of the service being rendered to its clients.
