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Five staff members of the JS Gericke Library,
Hanna Botha, Lynne Fourie, Mimi van der Merwe, Anneke Schaafsma
(Special Collections) and Niel Hendriksz (Subject Librarian) attended the 8th
Bibliophilia Africana conference held under the auspices of the
National Library from 11th – 14th May 2005 at
the Centre for the Book in Cape Town.
Whereas previous conferences
have mainly concentrated on book lovers and book collecting in South
Africa, the past conference covered a much broader scope, as reflected
in the title: From Papyrus to Print-Out: the Book in Africa,
and even included book-related experiences from Argentina and the
United Kingdom. Oral literature, reading literacy and the impact of
information technology on book development were among the key issues
highlighted for the first time, and more than one delegate expressed
the hope that the proceedings might encourage the growth of a reading
culture among a new generation of potential bibliophiles in Africa.
A group of delegates also visited the JS Gericke
Library's Special Collections division to view three book-related
exhibitions and attended talks given by lecturers from the department
of Fine Arts. Anton Kannemeyer, one of the creators of the uniquely
South African Bittercomix, gave a highly entertaining lecture
on half a century of comics and the art of the comic book. Marthie
Kaden showed an impressive selection from her students’ current book
design project – a fitting end which brought the conference right up
to the present day.
As part of
the conference the
Special Collections division displayed 3
exhibitions in the week of
16 - 20 May 2005. The topics covered included:
Please direct
enquiries to Mimi van der Merwe (Tel: 4881,
e-mail: mseyf@sun.ac.za)
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