Jagger Library

{{Short description|Library in Cape Town, South Africa}}

{{Infobox library

|type=University library

|location=Cape Town

|country=South Africa

|coordinates={{Coord|33|57|29|S|18|27|39|E|display=inline,title}}

|website={{URL|http://www.specialcollections.uct.ac.za/jagger-reading-room}}

|image=File:FeesMustFall protests at UCT - the second day of protests 01 (cropped).JPG

|caption=The library as it appeared during a protest in 2015

}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}The Jagger Library (also known as the Jagger Reading Room, previously known as the J. W. Jagger Linear Library) was the main reading room of the University of Cape Town Libraries.{{Cite web |url=http://www.specialcollections.uct.ac.za/jagger-reading-room |title=Jagger Reading Room |access-date=2021-04-18 |website=University of Cape Town Special Collections |language=en |archive-date=18 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418155748/http://www.specialcollections.uct.ac.za/jagger-reading-room |url-status=dead }}

The building was constructed in the 1930s, named after John William Jagger, a major benefactor of the University of Cape Town Libraries. It served initially as the main library, then as a temporary lending center, and more recently, between 2000 and 2011, as the reading room for the African Studies Library.

File:The Jagger library entrance area, with flowers, in 1947.jpg

By 1980, the library was part of an eight-library complex at the University of Cape Town, and was the headquarters of the university's library service. It then contained 518,000 of the 741,000 volumes available in the library network, and could house 1280 readers in its reading rooms.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fLdKAAAAYAAJ|title=University Education in the Republic of South Africa|last1=Coetzee|first1=Cornelius Johannes Stephanus|last2=Geggus|first2=Caroline|editor=South African Human Sciences Research Council|year=1980|page=196|isbn=9780869656631}}

In 2011, the university began a project aimed at restoring the Jagger Library to its original condition. The walkways and balconies installed in the 1960s and 1970s were removed, and it was subsequently painted, refurnished, and had its original elements restored, becoming once again the main library of the University of Cape Town.

File:Jagger Reading Room 01.jpg

It was partially destroyed by the April 2021 Table Mountain fire.{{Cite web |last=Persens |first=Lizell |url=https://ewn.co.za/2021/04/18/fire-wreaks-massive-destruction-on-uct |title=Fire wreaks destruction on UCT |access-date=2021-04-18|date=2021-04-18 |website=Eyewitness News |language=en}} However, the library's fire detection systems stopped the destruction of the entire collection.{{cite news|last=Tembo|first=Theolin|date=2021-04-18|title=Some of our valuable collections at Jagger Library have been lost in the fire, says UCT libraries head|work=Independent Online (South Africa)|url=https://www.iol.co.za/capeargus/news/some-of-our-valuable-collections-at-jagger-library-have-been-lost-in-the-fire-says-uct-libraries-head-040f83a0-6c62-4452-be44-9780c27fc675|access-date=2021-04-18}} The salvage operation ended on 18 May.{{Cite web |date=2021-05-18 |title=Completion of Phase One: Salvage |url=http://www.lib.uct.ac.za/news/completion-phase-one-salvage |access-date=2022-04-13 |website=University of Cape Town Libraries |language=en}} The collections are currently housed in temporary off-site storage.{{Cite web |date=2021-05-13 |title=Update: Wrapping up the salvage phase and the way forward |url=http://www.lib.uct.ac.za/news/update-uct-libraries-ed-salvage-phase-concludes-and-way-forward |access-date=2022-04-13 |website=University of Cape Town Libraries |language=en}}