Page 26 - VHSA - Onderstepoort 100 Years - Part 3
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OND
ERSTEPOORT 100
of the Transvaal for the years 1903–1910 were the predeces- sors of the series of reports that were continued by the Director of Veterinary Research of the Union. The name of this office changed several times and the titles of the reports were changed accordingly. These reports mainly cover research carried out at Onderstepoort. They resemble a journal in style and format, rather than a formal report to an authority. There are, however, also reports by field veterinarians and by commissions of enquiry in our collection, ranging from the 19th to the 20th century. The Journal of the South African Veterinary Medical Association first appeared in 1927.
Concerning the subjects covered, the changes over a century are historically revealing. The library always procured literature over a much wider spectrum than just veterinary science. Techniques used in human medicine are, for example, often applied to animals and medical journals are therefore well represented. The titles of journals subscribed to under- standably reflect the traditional disciplines around which the Institute organized its activities. Titles dealing with the aetio- logical agents of disease, such as bacteria, viruses and para- sites are prominent, as can be expected. Remarkable is the fact that the biggest subject class is not Veterinary Science. This class only holds the second largest number of books, whereas the ‘Chemistry’ class, mainly consisting of books on biochemis- try, encompasses almost one-fifth of the book collection.
No information could be obtained about the library staff during this period with the exception of F.T. Mauchle, previously referred to. Gutsche, however, also mentions that Theiler’s daughter, Margaret, acted as librarian during the second decade of the 20th century.
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The period of expansion (1932-1958)
The present library building was inaugurated by the Earl of Clarendon on 12 October 1932. The eastern wing of the building housed the library whereas the present ‘central hall’ was the Institute’s assembly hall. An extension of the assembly hall was in fact originally planned where the present western wing was later added. A large stage and cloakrooms appear on the original floor plans. The upper part of the eastern wall was supposed to contain a projector room and two galleries. Due to lack of money everything had to be scaled down and eventually only a small stage was built, of which the outlines can still be seen from polish residues. The original librarian’s office was Room 7, upstairs in the eastern wing. This room is isolated from the other staff and the library users. Some librarians, including Anna du Plessis, John Frylinck and Yolanda Grundling, preferred to sit in Room 2 at the entrance.
The building was erected with money allocated by the Empire Marketing Board, which was set up to promote the economic recovery of the Commonwealth as discussed in Part 1. The British government viewed South Africa as an im- portant leader in agricultural research due to Onderstepoort and its relative success in dealing with rinderpest and controlling diseases like East Coast fever through quarantine and dipping measures. However, the Empire Marketing Board was abolished in 1933 due to lack of funds and interest from the dominions, eager to forge their own trade policies. Another entity that did not survive until the inauguration was the construction company, Berry and Lawson. It went bankrupt and the last invoices were administered by a liquidator. The
Library building of the OVI inaugurated in 1932
PART 3
History of Individual Disciplines
1908-2008
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