Synergy in Virtual Space

UPSPACE

The institutional repository of the University of Pretoria

What is an Institutional Repository?“a set of services that a university offers to the members of its community for the management and dissemination of digital materials created by the institution and its community members. It is most essentially an organisational commitment to the stewardship of these digital materials, including long-term preservation where appropriate, as well as organization and access or distribution.”

DSpace

DSpace is a groundbreaking digital repository system that captures, stores, indexes, preserves, and redistributes an organisation's research data. Jointly developed by MIT Libraries and Hewlett-Packard Labs, the DSpace software platform serves a variety of digital archiving needs.

DSpace is freely available as open source software.

DSpace accepts all forms of digital materials including text, images, video, and audio files.

UPSpace is the name of the open source digital repository us by University of Pretoria.

Open source software

Open-source software is computer software whose source code is available under a copyright license that permits users to study, change, and improve the software, and to redistribute it in modified or unmodified form. It is the most prominent example of open source development.

(Source: www.wikipedia.org)

DigitisationDigitisation is the process of converting information into a digital format. In this format, information is organised into discrete units of data (called bits) that can be separately addressed (usually in multiple-bit groups called bytes). This is the binary data that computers and many devices with computing capacity (such as digital cameras and digital hearing aids) can process.

Aims

To allow researchers direct electronic access to a range of collection material.

The preserve rare and fragile collections while also increasing access to them.

Digitisation supports the e-Strategy of the University of Pretoria.

To reach new research communities.

Collections in UPSpaceThe Jonathan Jansen Collection

The collection strives to group the intellectual output of Jonathan Jansen, currently the dean of Education at UP, while also preserving it in digital format for years to come. The collection consists of media columns, radio and television interviews, research papers, speeches and a photo album. Some feedback:

“Thank you so much for this information. I have already printed out a number of articles from this site. Your assistance is greatly appreciated”

Dr. Sue Hasseler, Associate Dean for Teacher

Education, Calvin College, Grand Rapids

Collections in UPSpace

Arnold Theiler Collection

The preservation of the rich and diverse resources of the Faculty of Veterinary Science justifies a digitisation project. Through the digitisation of the material, its safekeeping is ensured and accessibility to scarce information resources enhanced.

Collections in UPSpaceSouth African Architects

Gerhard MoerdijkMoerdijk designed a significant number of the buildings on the various campuses of the University of Pretoria. He was also one of the longest serving Chairman of the Council of the University of Pretoria (18:10:1935-25:06:1942).

Sir Herbert Baker South Africa's best-known architect, started his South African career in 1892 and thus provided the basis for a number of works and ongoing studies both in South Africa and abroad. His South African career spanned from pre-Anglo-Boer War days into the challenging years of post-war reorganisation and Union in 1912.

Collections in UPSpace

openUPopenUP is the collection of peer reviewed and published research articles by staff, students and associates of the University of Pretoria. Brought together on the UPSpace platform to give access to the entire international research community in accordance with the philosophy and practice of open access and the copyright policies of the publishers.

Advantages

for authors: visibility to research articles: cited 25-300% more uptake, impact research progress

for readers: full text access to all our own research and to all the best and latest research

for researchers: OA is a prerequisite for text mining, fast tracking research cycles

for UP: Visibility, promotion, complete record of scholarship

Collections in UPSpace

MapungubweUPSpace provides the digital home of the Mapungubwe Research collection. Aims to serve as a research and public information resource. Consists of accredited research publications, unpublished material, photographs, negatives, slides, maps, manuscripts, drawings, site plans and reports.

Collections in UPSpace

Van Warmelo collection

Van Warmelo’s research was donated to the University of Pretoria in 1991. The donation includes the published bibliography, the accompanying indexing system as well as the material itself. The material is housed in the Special Collections Unit. Digitised photographs of tribal life will form part of the AI’s African Heritage Digital Collection. It is accessible from the Library Catalogue (UP Explore) - University of Pretoria.

Collections in UPSpace

Woodhouse collection

Bert Woodhouse is closely associated with the University of Pretoria with the housing of the Woodhouse Collection at the Special Collections Unit. The Woodhouse Collection consists of a large number of digital images with descriptions of rock art in Southern Africa.