The library would like to thank all those who participated in the Library User Satisfaction Survey.

The survey attempted to discover the level of user satisfaction and questioned a total of 1080 undergraduates, 265 bachelor’s students, 16 postgraduate students and 63 staff members.

"The results of the survey indicate that the highest usage of the library is still to access to books, photocopying /binding and for study space, with access to computers close behind."

Almost a third of all respondents indicated that they used the Library’s electronic collection facility.

Comments made on the survey forms gave a good indication of areas where the libraries performed well as well as areas which need attention.

By: Thando J. Moiloa

Written by CPUT News

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Despite being on separate sides of the globe, CPUT librarians and their counterparts at the Virginia Tech in the United States are collaborating on developing a new module that will be introduced into the international Open Knowledge course.

Work on this innovative project began just months after Dr Elisha Chiware, Director of CPUT Libraries and Tyler Walters, Dean of the Virginia Tech Libraries, signed a memorandum of understanding that will foster various collaborations between the two institutions.

The course will focus on assisting students with the process to publish their research and will be presented as a massive open online course, commonly known as a MOOC.

The course forms part of the Public Knowledge Project, which is a multi-university initiative focused on making the results of public funded research freely available through open-access policies.

Work on the course began earlier this year, with each team working on a specific aspect of it.

The course will cover issues in journal publishing such as peer review, editorial policies, plagiarism and reproducibility. Open access will also be introduced to students.

“We also hope to run a pilot project at CPUT in one of the faculties and include the course as an extra resource as part of the Advanced Information Literacy course that is being developed this year,” says CPUT’s Janine Lockhart.

The team has been working on the project for the past several months and the module will be rolled out in September.

Lockhart says the course will also be translated into Spanish.

*Other members of the CPUT team working on the project include Yunus Omar, Zanele Mathe, Petro Coreejes Brink, Lara Skelly.

For more information on the project see: http://blogs.lt.vt.edu/havelanguagewilltravel/2014/02/02/cput-strategic-collaboration/

Written by Candes Keating
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Provides coverage for the Engineering and Applied Sciences Faculties; the Bellville and Wellington Campuses, and research and innovation news.

Navigating CPUT’s academic library’s thousands of books, online journals and databases can be a daunting task for students.

But thanks to library staff, students are being shown step by step, how to find their way around any of the institutions 11 libraries.

The library developed the Information Literacy short course and Librarian Janine Lockhart says over just five modules students are trained to identify information, evaluate it and how to use information legally and ethically as well as how to reference.

Lockhart says these skills form a key component of academic life and a base for those who will pursue postgraduate studies.

Already 2 700 students have completed the course since its launch last year and recently the Library Director, Elisha Chiware, recognized a group of Analytical Chemistry students who were among the first to ace the course.

When starting out at CPUT, student Qiqa Mevana says she never considered the important role the library would play in her studies.

“I always relied on Google and never knew that I could access online resources such as Google Scholar, where I could find referenced information,” says Qiqa.

“The course taught us simple ways to research information, rather than having to go through hundreds of books or websites to find what you are looking for.”

Annually the library invest R13 million into new resources and currently boasts 265 327 books, 22 919 e-books, 43 Elsevier e-text books as well as 31 platforms which provide access to a total of 100 databases that includes numerous e-journals.

Director of the Library Elisha Chiware says this course is just one of the many initiatives to ensure students make use of these vast resources.

Written by Candes Keating
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Provides coverage for the Engineering and Applied Sciences Faculties; the Bellville and Wellington Campuses, and research and innovation news.

From assisting with grammar to guiding students on how to construct a well written assignment, the services offered by the Writing Centre are key in developing well-rounded graduates.

The Writing Centre is just one of several support units that play a central role in ensuring all CPUT students reach their academic goals.

The Writing Centre offers assistance with writing, mathematics and physics.

To make use of the services, students must make an appointment to see a consultant, who will then assist them.

Students are required to bring a draft of their assignment or their mathematics of physics equation to the consultation.

The services of the Writing Centre are free to all registered CPUT students.

Writing Centers can be accessed by all CPUT students at the following campuses:

• Cape Town Campus – E-Learning Building
• Tygerburg Campus – Library
• Bellville Campus – IT Building
• Mowbray Campus – Education Building

Written by Candes Keating
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Provides coverage for the Engineering and Applied Sciences Faculties; the Bellville and Wellington Campuses, and research and innovation news.

CPUT recently hosted the 2nd Research and Information Literacy Skills in the Workplace Seminar.

The hybrid event brought together industry partners, academics and librarians and attracted more than 250 participants.

“As we focus on preparing our students for industry, one of the important aspects, besides their chosen fields, is the ability to research and use information in the workplace. It is also important that industry and libraries have a dialogue regarding information skills in the workplace to ensure the academic sector, including academic libraries, understand the nature of these requirements,” said Janine Lockhart, Library Manager: Research Support and Faculty of Applied Sciences at CPUT.

“The purpose of this seminar is therefore to have open discussions between librarians, academics and industry partners with regards to research and information literacy skills within the workplace. Through this engagement we are hoping that members of industry can help us to ensure that we know and understand what skills are needed and how these skills are used within the workplace. This dialogue will inform the broader university community to improve and enhance curriculum development in information literacy so that we can produce graduates who can make a positive impact within the workplace.”

In his opening remarks, Prof Elisha Chiware, Director: CPUT Libraries, said the (Covid-19) lockdowns had created new opportunities for academic and research libraries globally to rethink how they deliver services to their clients to support learning, teaching, research and innovation and community engagement.

“We are also learning more of the demands from industry, especially in the areas of empowering all our graduates who are entering the workplace to be more tech savvy and especially in the area of data literacy.

He said one of the key emerging areas in almost all domains is the ability of any new employee to be able to handle data especially in how they source it, evaluate it, organise and interpret it as well as producing meaningful reports and providing their seniors with data for decision-making.

Dr David Phaho, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Technology Innovation and Partnerships delivered the official welcome.

“It is one thing to have a vast treasure trove of information resources at our disposal. There is still a need for students, researchers and scholars to constantly upgrade or upskill their knowledge to ensure proper, effective and efficient access to these resources. Technology innovations are evolving, so must our skills set to ensure we are not left behind on the information highway.”

The keynote speaker was Dennis Ocholla, Professor of Information Studies: University of Zululand. The title of his presentation was: The Three Sisters. Partnership between Research, Library and Library Information Science Education towards Information Literacy skills in the workplace.

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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