It was certainly a wonderful opportunity to showcase The South African Preservation and Conservation Group (SAPCON) and The Library and Information Association of South Africa’s ( LIASA) active interest in the preservation of our heritage research resources collections and in our libraries archives and special collections in South Africa.

Whilst the turn out for the awareness campaign was basically a 'one man band' eventually two the email response to the call out was supportive and very encouraging. Thank you.

The was interest from the passing motorist with a toot and a wave, the delegates stopped and chatted and some took pics of the posters whilst others asked questions- where are the archives situated, the type of collections, do we keep records of temperature and relative humidity readings etc, etc others made suggestions re the impact of climate change on our collections - A British couple suggested we get the weather bureau involved with taking more accurate temperature and relative humidity RH readings of changes in our archives and special collections.

A journalist from Johannesburg would like to do a follow up article on our concerns and thought it was important to highlight the impact of climate change on our archives libraries and special collections and more so the impact on future researchers and availability of resources if not preserved.

Others spoke of government funding?????

A delegate from Los Angeles spoke of the mould problem at his archive. We had our grips out the air cons, the fluctuation in weather conditions and the challenges of trying to maintain a consistent temperature in our archives.

Oh! and the big one most of the buildings were not designed to house archives and special collections. Many of us can identify with this one! storage space / sharing the building / lighting / position of windows / roof leaks - by the sound of things the concerns and problems are universal.

All in all I had a wonderful time chatting, some due to language barriers just gave me the thumps up.

My posters were photographed for the record by the official media of the COP 17.

The Dutch media person interviewed me on my concerns re the Impact of climate change on our archives libraries and special collections and if COP 17 was going to make a difference to my awareness campaign. Yes it might inspire interest groups to organise an international conference on the impact of climate change in archives libraries and special collection across the globe.

The journalist from the Independent Newspaper gave me her business card, to keep her informed of our activities in this awareness campaign.

The blue light parade also got a glimpse of my posters

Concerns about MOULD infestation topped the list.

I enjoyed the experience and I think we certainly achieved our aim and got the message out that the Climate change is also having an impact on our research resources and serious funding is needed for the preservation of South Africa’s heritage in Libraries Archives Special Collections and Museums in South Africa.

It is now up to us as Individuals, Organisations and Associations to actively lobby the powers that be and highlight our concerns and need not only for urgent funding to preserve our collections but also the imperative need to promote and encourage skills development, training and education in preservation and conservation in the South African context.

Thank you.

Nellie Somers
23 December 2011

E-mail: somers@ukzn.ac.za
Tel: +27 31 260 1713

The Theme of the Workshop 'The Challenges of Planning Designing and Constructing/Renovating Buildings for Archives and Special Collections and Museums in South Africa'

The program included case studies of the Inanda Seminary Archive, the Renovation of the Pietermaritzburg Archives and the Montrose House, the Challenges of access for the disable, Air quality control, AMAFA and its function and role in the development and renovations of historical buildings in the province.
The Challenges of storing archival collections, Safety of the collections: Disaster preparedness, and the National Chairperson of SAPCON shared his thoughts on 'The dream' Preservation/Conservation Lab and finally the topic 'Designing energy saving buildings' by a member of the KZN Institute of Architects sounds like the just the beginning of may workshops to follow.

Just over 100 delegates attended this workshop, including professional and trainee Architects and members of the KZN Institute of Architects, some from as far as Newcastle and East London, Archivists, Curators, Museologists, Regional Managers, Chairpersons and Board members from various Museums and Special Collections in the province, Librarians including the African Literary Studies Collection, Chairperson from the Building Association, South African Pest Management Association, an Interior Designer, a Civil engineering student, Education Officer, Researchers, the Head of Preservation Department from the National Archives of South Africa, Library Manager of Durban University of Technology, representatives from the two major storage companies in the Province and many other members and colleagues from the province.

SAPCON Members and all interested parties are invited to send their questions or raise their concerns and share their knowledge and expertise on the SAPCON Listserv.

Please contact Sue-Adrie at 021 487 5618 or Sue-Adri.Jefthas@nlsa.ac.za for information on how to subscribe to the SAPCON Listserv

Thank you.

Nellie Somers

E-mail: somers@ukzn.ac.za
Tel: +27 31 260 1713