Information Literacy Tutorial

The book and periodical collections are organised by faculty

Did you know that you don't have to come to the Library to gather information?  Nowadays, most academic publications appear in electronic format which is made available to you through the Library website.  The Library invests heavily in subscribing to a wealth of online resources that are easily accessible from residences, computer labs, wireless connections, and even from home.

The UWC Library web page is the gateway to these resources. If you are connecting from off campus, you will be prompted for a username and password as follows:

STUDENTS log in with:
Username = student number
Password = date of birth (yyyymmdd) 

STAFF log in with:
Username = Novell username (initial and surname)
Password = Novell password  

 IMPORTANT  You may not share your UWC login credentials with non-UWC individuals, as this violates the terms of our legal contracts with publishers.  If caught doing this, you are liable to lose your network privileges.

There are many opportunities to learn how to use the Library's eResources.  

1. Check the Training Calendar on the Library homepage to see what's on offer in the current month.

2. Use the Self Learning Zone in the Atrium, if you prefer to learn from watching videos and demonstrations

3. Ask your Faculty Librarian for assistance in using eResources

Tired of reading?  Watching a DVD on your subject may give you new insights to your subject knowledge.  Consult the subject listing of DVDs at Short Loan on Level 5 or use SmartSearch to find audiovisual material related to your areas of interest.  We also collect quality movies for recreational use  These may be borrowed overnight for your viewing enjoyment.  Playback equipment is available outside Short Loan on Level 5.

You'll find Special Collections section on Level 12. Hours of service are Monday through Friday: 08h20 – 16h30. After hours requests for special collection material will be handled by the staff on duty at the Loans Desk on Level 5.

The section focuses on South Africa and houses a broad spectrum of subjects with particular strengths in the areas of socio-political history. The collection includes:

• The South African Studies collection. This is an interdisciplinary collection of South African material with particular strength in the subject areas of South African socio-political and economic history and biographical works from the 19th century to the present. The District Six collection is also available here.
• The Allen Isaacman Collection: This remarkable collection of books, ephemera, posters and serials represents the concentrated and systematic gathering of both currently available and scarce out of print publications for more than 40 years.  Primary concentration is on Mozambique. Strong coverage for other states in Southern Africa provides access to similar topical coverage in the social sciences and history.  
• Government publications. The following Government publications form part of the collection.
  • Commission Reports
  • HSRC Reports 
  • Statistics South Africa Reports 
  • White papers

• UWC research publications – this collection consists of all research done and published at the University

This material must be used inside Special Collections and is not available for loan. To safeguard the unique collection researchers are obliged to comply with the reading room rules. No bags are allowed in the reading room area. Student cards must be presented to the librarian when material is requested.