Welcome! Siyakwamukela!

Library Orientation Video

Get to know our UKZN Libraries

Welcome to the library! We are thrilled to support you throughout your academic journey. To learn more about our library and explore our various locations, please watch the short introductory video below.

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Special Collections Article

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS ARTICLE

Alan Paton: His Early Years – Reflections by Malcolm Pearse

“My father and Alan Paton met at the Natal University College in Pietermaritzburg and remained close for sixty years,” Pearse said. “I can still picture our families gathered around the dinner table, with Alan discussing his political views and my father responding accordingly.”

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Yabelana

BLOG

From Storage to showcase: How FigShare (Yabelana) enhances research visibility

https://yabelana.ukzn.ac.za

In today’s data-driven world, research output includes more than just journal articles and theses. It encompasses datasets, videos, posters, and even codes, yet many of these valuable assets remain hidden on hard drives or departmental servers, unseen and unused.

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ANNOUNCEMENT

Springer has deactivated the open access no-fee publishing option for subscribing members.

Authors can still publish in hybrid journals at no cost under other existing transformative agreements.
https://sanlic.ac.za/read-and-publish-agreements/.

Researchers are encouraged to contact their library for guidance and support.

E-MAIL: UKZN Electronic Resources
CALL: +27-31-2601491

BLOG October 2025

BLOG

From Roots to Blossoms: Honouring Heritage in the Season of Spring

September is a month of celebrating cultural diversity in South Africa. The air is filled with the scent of blossoming flowers, the promise of warmer days, and the familiar sound of laughter and togetherness as families prepare to mark Heritage Day. It is a time when nature and culture meet—spring reminds us of renewal and growth, while Heritage Day calls us back to our roots and the rich traditions that make us who we are.

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BLOG - Anthropology

BLOG

A gripping narrative of Anthropology in practice

Anthropology is a fascinating subject. The idea that you can understand past civilizations by examining bones that are fossilized and have been buried for many years is amazing. You can even gauge physical characteristics from a single bone. Unearthing mass graves is long and hard work but anthropologists all over the world have discovered so many links to ancient worlds that we have never even thought or heard of.

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Blog - Librarians love

BLOG

Librarians love the library … and so should you

Librarians show love for their library because the library has many special attributes that benefit the University community. The library’s webpage is your gateway to many resources. The catalogue and databases have a wealth of information to assist you with your assignments and research. Library staff are available to assist with queries.

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Engineering Village

research tools

Engineering Village

Engineering Village is widely used by academic institutions, research organizations, and industry professionals to support engineering research and development, making it a key tool in the engineering community. Engineering Village aggregates content from multiple databases, including Compendex and Inspec which covers a broad range of engineering disciplines, as well as related fields such as computer science and materials science.

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Geology Lecture

Geological Sciences Research Lecture Series

Topic: The Moon in a Pebble: Challenges in reading the history of the moon from only a small number of samples

Presented by: Matthew Loocke, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor and Director of the Chevron geomaterials Characterization Laboratory
Department of Geology & Geophysics
Louisiana State University
Recorded: 26 March 2025

PDF Presentation

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HERITAGE OF UKZN

LATEST BLOG

The heritage of the University of KwaZulu-Natal

The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) has a rich and evolving heritage, tracing its origins back to the early 20th century when the foundations of universities in South Africa were first established. The roots of UKZN lie in the Natal University College, founded in 1909, which became the University of Natal in 1949.

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Digital Library

LATEST BLOG

The Future of Academic Libraries:
Adapting to the Digital Age and Beyond

Traditionally seen as the heart of knowledge and research on university campuses, academic libraries have long been the bastions of printed books, scholarly journals, and quiet study spaces. But in today’s increasingly digital world, their role is evolving in ways that promise to reshape the very essence of academic inquiry, collaboration, and community engagement.

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BLOG

Latest Blog

IRESS (McGregor) at UKZN LIBRARY

IRESS is a technology company that provides financial market data, trading platforms, and wealth management software to clients in the financial services industry. Its flagship product, IRESS Viewpoint, is a comprehensive platform that offers real-time market data, news, research, and analysis tools to help investors make informed decisions....

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The 5th IFLA Symposium on AI

5th IFLA Symposium on Artificial Intelligence

The 5th IFLA Symposium on AI seeks to explore the latest advancements, challenges, and best practices in leveraging AI technologies within libraries and information services.

Hosted by: University of KwaZulu-Natal Library Services

Location: Golden Horse Casino, Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Date: 16 – 20 June 2025

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UKZN Library Services Opening Hours from 9 February 2026 to 25 June 2026

UKZN Library Services Opening Hours: Second Semester

Campus	Library	Weekdays	Saturdays	Sundays
Edgewood	Edminson Library	24 hours	24 hours	24 hours
Howard College	Barrie Biermann Architecture Library	08h00 - 16h30	Closed	Closed
	EG Malherbe (Main) Library	24 hours	24 hours	24 hours
	Eleanor Bonnar Music Library	08h00 - 16h30	Closed	Closed
	GMJ Sweeny Law Library	24 hours	24 hours	24 hours
Medical School	Nelson R Mandela Library	24 hours	24 hours	24 hours
Pietermaritzburg	Cecil Renaud (Main) Library	24 hours	24 hours	24 hours
	Law Library	08h00 - 23h00	08h00 - 16h30	Closed
	Life Sciences Library	08h00 - 23h00	08h00 - 16h30	Closed
Westville	Westville (Main) Library	24 hours	24 hours	24 hours

Libraries will close at 12h00 on 24 December 2025 and will reopen on Monday 5 January 2026 at 08:00.
Medical School: Vacation hours will end on 12 January 2026.

Campus	Library	Weekdays	Saturdays	Sundays
Pietermaritzburg	Alan Paton Centre & Struggle Archives	08h00 -16h30	Closed	Closed
Pietermaritzburg	Centre for African Literary Studies	08h00 -16h30	Closed	Closed
Westville	Gandhi-Luthuli Documentation Centre	08h00 -16h30	Closed	Closed
Campbell Collections	Killie Campbell Africana Library	08h00 -16h30	Closed	Closed

Contact us

Libraries
Subject Librarians
Interlibrary loan queries (ill@ukzn.ac.za)
General library queries (librarian@ukzn.ac.za)
Online library account queries (library@ukzn.ac.za)

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Playlist

3 Videos

7:22

Open Research and Contributor ID (ORCHID)

4:12

5:35

UKZN Library

Welcome! Siyakwamukela!

Get to know our UKZN Libraries

ACCESS PHARMACY DATABASE TRAINING

Professor Bernth Lindfors: Honouring a Legacy of African Literary Scholarship

Book review: “My Radio Memory: Listening to the Listener” edited by Robin Sewlal

Geological Sciences Research Lecture Series

Presented by: Dr. Thembiso O Basupi, Ph.D.
Geological Sciences
University of KwaZulu-Natal
Recorded: 23 October 2025

From Storage to showcase: How FigShare (Yabelana) enhances research visibility

Springer has deactivated the open access no-fee publishing option for subscribing members.

From Roots to Blossoms: Honouring Heritage in the Season of Spring

Congratulations, Simon. You did it again

Ranganathan’s laws in a nutshell

The evolving role of Librarians in information literacy and AI

A gripping narrative of Anthropology in practice

EMERALD PUBLISHING

LATEST BLOG

Inspiring Greatness

SciVal by Elsevier

Engineering Village

SCOPUS BY ELSEVIER

The Gandhi-Luthuli Documentation Centre

CALLING ALL RESEARCHERS AND STUDENTS

Geological Sciences Research Lecture Series

The heritage of the University of KwaZulu-Natal

LIBRARY SERVICES CLIENT SATISFACTION SURVEY

IRESS (McGregor) at UKZN LIBRARY

Wiley Digital Archives

Stay up to date with news from home or all over the world

UKZN Library Services Opening Hours from 9 February 2026 to 25 June 2026

Contact us

Resources

Training and Events

Help

Playlist

Useful Links

Copyright Officer

Higher Education Institutions

Dietetics and Human Nutrition

Connect with us

Welcome! Siyakwamukela!

Get to know our UKZN Libraries

UKZN Library Services Opening Hours from 9 February 2026 to 25 June 2026

Contact us

Resources

Training and Events

Help

Playlist

Library Orientation

Open Research and Contributor ID (ORCHID)

Cited Reference Searching using Scopus

Useful Links

Copyright Officer

Higher Education Institutions

Dietetics and Human Nutrition