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Charlie Molepo, Deputy Director: Research and Scholarly Communications in Library and Information Services
The Interlibrary Loan (ILL) division in the University of the Free State Department of Library and Information Services has been recognised by a global library cooperative, OCLC. 

Peter Collins, Director of Resource Sharing at OCLC, says they chose to enrol the UFS Sasol Library in the OCLC’s Express Digital Delivery Programme because of the exceptional work of the staff in the ILL division.

This American non-profit cooperative organisation supports thousands of libraries in making information more accessible and useful to people around the world. 

Users prioritised for receiving service

According to Charlie Maphuntshane Molepo, Deputy Director: Research and Scholarly Communications in Library and Information Services, ILL staff members Jonas Mogopodi and Shaneulia Nel played a big role in ensuring the consistent delivery of articles and other digital resources within 18 hours or less through OCLC’s WorldShare ILL network.

The university’s ILL division, providing a service to academics and postgraduate students, is one of 1 100 institutions worldwide to participate in the Express Digital Delivery Programme. Only four South African universities have been included in this elite service (including the University of Cape Town, Stellenbosch University, the University of KwaZulu Natal, and the UFS).

“This means that our users will be prioritised when they request articles delivered in an electronic format, receiving their requested information within 18 hours as part of the elite institutions. The normal turnaround time for requesting/receiving items from other institutions is three to seven days for electronic resources, says Molepo.

Shift to virtual learning

Collins explains that the Express Digital Delivery Programme was developed to help libraries respond to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, tighter budgets, and the shift to more virtual learning. “It will provide the fastest available solution to issue requested articles to your library's users with your current resource-sharing service,” he says.

The service is also provided at no extra cost to the universities as it is included in the current ILL subscription.

Collins believes that no other resource-sharing service can match the speed, reliability, or breadth of materials available through this programme.

Enrolling the UFS Sasol Library’s ILL system in the OCLC’s Express Digital Delivery programme recognises that the UFS library is delivering a world-class service to its users and other partner libraries. It has always been the library's vision to differentiate itself in the service it delivers to the university community,” says Molepo.

News Archive

Launch of the Africa office of the IIDE
2006-05-25

Attending the launch of the Africa office of the IIDE were from the left Prof Sytse Strijbos (Chairperson of IIDE Europe), Rev Kiepie Jaftha (Chairperson of the IIDE in Africa’s Board of Directors and Chief Director: Community Service at the UFS) and Prof Frederick Fourie (Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS).

 

Attending the launch were from the left Prof Lucius Botes (Director: Centre of Development Support at the UFS), Dr Samuel Kareithi (Head: Community Development at the Cornerstone Christian College, Cape Town), Rev Kiepie Jaftha (Chairperson of the IIDE in Africa’s Board of Directors and Chief Director: Community Service at the UFS), Prof Sytse Strijbos (Chairperson of IIDE Europe) and Dr Ezekiel Moraka (Vice-Rector:  Student Affairs at the UFS).

Africa office of IIDE launched on UFS main campus 

The Africa office of the International Institute for Development and Ethics (IIDE) was today (26 May 2006) launched on the Main Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein.

“The IIDE specialises in the studying and research of general questions of developmental theory and practices and provides services and support in education, strategic planning, policy formulation, advocacy and capacity building of development agencies,” said Rev Kiepie Jaftha, Chairperson of the IIDE in Africa’s Board of Directors and Chief Director: Community Service at the UFS.

According to Rev Jaftha the IIDE in Africa will focus on the conceptual and normative aspects of developmental processes in Sub-Saharan Africa.  “We want to foster local and international partnerships with various relevant role-players in civil society, the private sector and public sector in the SACD region and later expand our operations to the rest of Africa,” said Rev Jaftha.

The IIDE in Africa cooperates with a similar foundation in Europe, functioning as the IIDE Europe.  This institute was founded in 2003 and its head office is situated in the Netherlands.  The UFS is a funder of the IIDE in Africa together with the Paul Foundation and private sponsors from the Netherlands.

“We have already started with various projects which are in various stages of implementation,” said Rev Jaftha.  Some of these projects include, among others, the broadening of the master’s degree in Christian Studies of Science and Society (MACSSS) which is currently housed at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam to tertiary institutions in South Africa such as the UFS, the University of Stellenbosch and the Potchefstroom Campus of the Northwest University.

“Another project is an investigation into the possibility of initiating a broad development initiative in the poverty stricken Qwaqwa area.  This initiative will attempt to concentrate on issues like the training and empowerment of prospective entrepreneurs in the region, the identification of prospective entrepreneurs for the rendering of development support and the monitoring of the impact of information and communication technology on local communities during the implementation of sustainable development initiatives,” said Rev Jaftha.

“The establishment of the Africa office of the IIDE on the UFS Main Campus is an indication of one of the aims of the UFS to play a role in South Africa and Africa.  It also signifies our aim to contribute meaningfully to research and development and to establish links between the academe and practice,” said Rev Jaftha. 

 

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel:   (051) 401-2584
Cell:  083 645 2454
E-mail:  loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
26 May 2006

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