Jagger Library - The African Mirror

Apr

2021

Tech solutions come to the rescue after Cape Town university fire

KIM HARRISBERG WHEN South African tech entrepreneur Lisa Adams passed hundreds of students stranded on the roadside with suitcases after fire tore through their campus in Cape Town this week, she raced home to her laptop to help. Within hours, she had compiled a Google Maps list containing the names of the dozens of hotels, restaurants, counselling services and places of worship that had opened their doors to the 4,000 students affected by the wildfire. "I had to act fast and use low-tech for high impact with the skills I have because it was getting dark and I wanted students…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

In Pictures | Firefighters now fight for their jobs

MULTIMEDIA

BARRY CHRISTIANSON FIREFIGHTERS risked their lives to put out the flames threatening Cape Town. But more than 500 of them might be fired for trying to negotiate better working hours. Sunrise on the morning of 20 April was calm on Signal Hill. Joggers and cyclists were out getting their exercise for the day. Devil’s Peak and Table Mountain poked up through a sea of smoke, with a single plume rising from the mountain. There was a sense of relief in the air. The disaster was finally over. The fire had been extinguished in most places other than Devil’s Peak. While…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

From the ashes, library vows to rebuild unrivaled Africa collection

EDUCATION

KIM HARRISBERG CAPE TOWN is reeling after one of its worst fires in recent history tore through the University of Cape Town campus, forcing 4,000 students to evacuate as it consumed precious items from the library's rare African Studies collection. Tens of thousands of books, manuscripts, films and government publications from across Africa were on Sunday turned to ash in the Jagger Library; many more emerged water damaged. The library housed one of the world's biggest collections of African history books and unique African films, including early editions of the first Black-owned newspaper in South Africa. Ujala Satgoor, executive director…