Frans Erasmus: An inspiration!

What an inspiration this man is!  Loving something, and loving it too much to keep it for himself, but gives his all to make it available to you.  That is exactly what Frans Erasmus, head of the Springbok Radio Preservation Society, does with his time and money.  He makes Springbok Radio of old available to all through Springbok Radio Digital, an internet radio station re-broadcasting old Springbok Radio programs as well as recreating the feel of Springbok Radio with new music programs with music from the era of Springbok Radio.

On 21 May I had the privilege to start a series of interviews with Frans about above-mentioned venture, but also about the history of Springbok Radio, and his dreams for the future.  Frans is adamant that the memory must and will not die, and we at the SABC Radio Archives share his sentiment.  With Frans's help (Frans is actually doing most of the work), we are serious in preserving what is left of Springbok Radio, and also in taking it back to the public.  Our contribution will firstly be in the form of preserving Frans's knowledge about Springbok Radio.  I think it is safe to say that nobody knows as much about the stations and the people who used to be involved in it as Frans.  Secondly we would like to conduct interviews with Springbok Radio role-players who are still with us, in order to ensure preservation of the memory.  Thirdly we are continuously working with Frans to get material safely back to the SABC, where it will be kept for generations to come.

Frans always loved Springbok Radio, and started collecting after the station closed.  His first recording however was with a tape recorder and a microphone against the speaker.  Private recordings being donated makes up a large part of the existing collection.  Frans does the tracing, retrieving, editing and cataloguing, as well as the digital stream all from his own pocket, which is not always cheap, but he finds his reward in the satisfaction of knowing people can relive this wonderful part of our history.

As for Springbok Radio Digital, Frans believes it can continue for a very long time with the material available, so listeners can look forward to a long and happy listening relationship with Springbok Radio Digital, if all goes according to plan.

From our side we would like to thank Frans for what he is doing, and also for his attitude towards the SABC Radio Archives, who would love to help making the material available to the public.

"If we don't see you through the week, we will see you through the window"

-Retha Buys, Custodian: Springbok Radio: SABC Radio Archives

Interview with an assistant record librarian at the SABC Record Library: Oliver Mhlanga

Oliver Mhlanga
SABC Record Library

This is part of a series of blog posts to gain a better understanding of the SABC Record Library, as well as part of a series of blog posts about the SABC Media Libraries. The interviews help us to gain a better understanding of the work that we do here.

The interview this week is with Oliver Mhlanga, an assistant record librarian in the SABC Record Library. He is responsible for the filing of the music.

The Record Library houses recorded music, previously unavailable, as well as all genres of recorded music, including sound effects and others. The music is regularly accessed by staff and made available to SABC internal clients.

Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

I am Oliver Fana Mhlanga. I grew up in Mpumalanga in the place called Piet Retief. Before I joined the SABC I was working as a bricklayer (builder).

Please tell us about a normal day in your office. What music do you give priority to?
I need training and understanding of different music genres and how to classify it.

Do you struggle with technical difficulties, and if so, what?

Yes, I am struggling with technical issues because it is not part of my job description to work on a computer most of the time.

If you have an anecdote about a specific piece of interesting music, please share it with us.

Of course I have a specific piece of interesting music which I enjoy!

R Kelly: The Storm is over now.
Quote from the lyrics:

“I was in a tunnel
And couldn't see the light
And whenever I'd look up
I couldn't see the sky
Sometimes when I'm standin'
It seems like I done walked for miles
And my heart could be cryin'
Dead in the middle of a smile
But then I climbed the hills
And saw the mountains
I hollered help 'cause I was lost
Then I felt the strong wind
Heard a small voice sayin'
The storm is over
(The storm is over now)
And I can see the sunshine
(Somewhere beyond the clouds)
I feel Heaven, yeah
(Heaven is over me)
Come on and set me free, whoa”

Tell us why you enjoy doing the work that you do.
Yes, I am enjoying my work because it is encouraging every day!

Related posts:
Interview with Aaron Magoro at the SABC Record Library

Interview with a Systems Administartor at the SABC Record Library

Interview with a Record Librarian at the SABC Record Library


Questions and blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives

Intern in the SABC Radio Archives: Mbali Jezile - an interview

Mbali Jezile
SABC Radio Archives

The SABC Radio Archives has acquired the services of four interns since March of this year. The interns are here for a couple of months to acquire valuable skills, but also to help with the workflows in the SABC Radio Archives.

Mbali Jezile, the intern, has a National Certificate Vocational in Information Technology.

Questions addressed to the intern to understand the type of skills that they have to offer, but also get a better understanding of what they are doing here in the SABC Radio Archives.

Please tell us about your personal history as well as your studies. How did you become an intern here at the SABC?

 I was born and raised in Soweto at Diepkloof. I am currently living In Orange Farm South of Johannesburg with my Grandparents and I’ am a sister of two. I have always been passionate working in the media related field. I’ve obtained a National Certificate vocational in IT. I heard about an internship in my previous college. I applied in God’s favour I was one of the successful candidate.

What does your job entail here at the SABC?

My job as an intern requires me to be given mini disks by an archivist for dubbing, setting audio levels and editing into DALET system. Up to now I have been dubbing for NEWS ACTUALITY and IKWEKWEZI FM audio materials which will be used for cataloging, and preserved for rebroadcasting.
I also print CDs and do air checks for RSG, SA FM and METRO FM and then file them in sequence at the backlog for permanent storage.

What have you learned already while you have been here?

Honestly I must say as an individual who has less knowledge in sound, I have learned so much.
I have learnt to operate in DALET; recording from a mini disk machine into DALET system; how to edit; set audio levels; listening and selecting relevant information and saving in a required format.
I have also learned how to print disks using solution canon menu software, and doing air checks.
I know how valuable those records are for the archivist.

What suggestions do you have for us with regards the preservation and digitization of our audio collections?

I think the server can be used for backup. The server can store information and backups are electronically transferred each day and can be access immediately when necessary. 

Please tell us of any interesting anecdote or funny story with regards your internship here at the SABC

I remember when I got a call from our mentor Thembi telling me I was one of the interns who made it through. I was excited up to the point that I even misunderstood the date, and I came the day before, only to find out I was supposed to come the following day. I was so *embarrassed*! Luckily I was not the only one who misheard the date but with one of the interns, who is now my colleague and friend (Nokuthula). We both had a great laugh about it.  

What are you planning to do after this?

I am hoping to acquire a great deal of knowledge and work experience and adopt skills provided and put in practices in any media or technology related company. I also want study web design in my part time.

Related posts:
Interview with an intern at the SABC Radio Archives: Nokuthula Mzelemu
SABC Radio Archives: interview with the intern - Thakani Ramufhufhi
Interview with an intern at the SABC Radio Archives: Obakeng Phiri

Questions and blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.

Interview with an intern at the SABC Radio Archives: NOKUTHULA MZELEMU

Nokuthula Mzelemu
SABC Radio Archives

The SABC Radio Archives has acquired the services of four interns since March of this year. The interns are here for a couple of months to acquire valuable skills, but also to help with the workflows in the SABC Radio Archives. They have changed the way the radio archivists work.

NOKUTHULA MZELEMU is a qualified SOUND DESIGNER.

Questions are addressed to the intern to understand the type of skills that they have to offer, but also get a better understanding of what they are doing now here in the SABC Radio Archives.

­Please tell us about your personal history as well as your studies. How did you become an intern here at the SABC?

My name is Nokuthula Mzelemu, born and raised in Katlehong which is in the East Rand. Started my school career in 1995 at Germiston High School and matriculated in 2006 at Germiston High School. My passion for the entertainment industry led me to study film at The South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance “AFDA”. I obtained my Bachelors Degree in Sound Design in 2010. Studying at a film school really helped or gave me a hint rather on what it is that is expected in a working environment. After graduating I then spent the rest of 2010 doing a bit of travelling which was a blessing because it gave me time to really research and try find the best job for me. When a friend of mine sent me an email informing me of this internship opportunity I knew that this was it. I then applied and prayed hard and as always God heard me and I got the call after the interview process that I had made it. 

What does your job entail here at the SABC?

I am a sound archivist and by that I help preserve and store material for future use. My job entails me to collect old material which has been saved on a mini disk. I then re-record the music and interview part of the radio show onto Dalet; whilst that is happening I check the levels and adjust them before saving it on the public server for my senior archivist to make use of. I also help with the airchecks (recording of radio programmes that have been identified to be archived), as well as the printing of the different radio programmes onto cd.

What have you learned already while you have been here?

Having a Sound Design background has helped me, but being here has helped me realize that the programs we watch on TV, or hear on the radio are actually stored and re-used for future use. I have learned to work with different people such as my team mates and my senior archivist. I have also learnt to work on a deadline and because the shows I listen to were recorded few years back I am also learning a thing or two about our musical history.

What suggestions do you have for us with regards the preservation and digitization of our audio collections?

Moving from mini disk to cd is a good idea. I think if we had to save time because with time and technology changing cd’s will probably not be used in the future. I think if we could build a hard drive with huge space capacity then it would save a lot of time and space, as space will run out with all the cd’s being kept. If everything gets saved onto the hard drive it lessens the chances of anything bad happening to the content being stored.

Please tell us of any interesting anecdote or funny story with regards your internship here at the SABC

We shall call this story “OUR FIRST PAY CHEQUE”: It all started when all the interns from different departments had speculations about our pay day; we were all so exited…. Mbali, Obakeng, Thakhani and myself had already started planning what we were going to buy (this was the1^st big pay cheque for some of us) so when the day came (the day we assumed was pay day) and nothing happened we were all so disappointed. But not to worry because the actual day came and we received sms’s from our different banks. We were so EXITED; calling each other in the morning even treated ourselves to some “expensive” lunch. But sadly one of my fellow team mates didn’t get paid on the same day as us because he had got his banking details wrong. So it was funny as we laughed at him and he would get exited and u could just see the “hope” he had in his eyes with every sms he got. Hahaha “no names mentioned” but none the less he did get paid (after all of us had spent the entire last cent we had). Then at the end the joke was on us.

What are you planning to do after this?

At the end of this 10 month internship program I hope to have familiarized myself with the different sound departments of the SABC. I then plan on taking any job opportunity that may come my way.

Related posts:
SABC Radio Archives: Interview with the intern: Thakani Ramufhufhi
Interview with an intern at the SABC Radio Archives: Obakeng Phiri

Questions and blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.

SABC Radio Archives: interview with an intern – Thakani Ramufhufhi

Thakani Ramufhufhi
SABC Radio Archives

The SABC Media Libraries have acquired the services of a couple of interns. We have four interns in the SABC Radio Archives (as part of the SABC Media Libraries). They are busy us helping change our workflows for the digitization process, as well as acquiring some valuable skills along the way.

They answered a few questions as well:

Thakani, please tell us about your personal history as well as your studies. How did you come to be an intern here at the SABC?

Answer:  I was born in Thohoyandou a small town in Venda area in Limpopo Province. Growing up I was always interested in music so I came to Johannesburg in 2008 to study sound engineering which includes music production. I worked for a sound hiring company called Sound Stylists in 2009 and also worked for Univen Radio last year. A friend told me about SABC internships last year. I applied and fortunately I was amongst those who were chosen.

What does your job entail here at the SABC?

Answer: As Sound Archives Intern I record mostly SAFM audio material from mini discs into the Dalet system for cataloging. I help to print CDs for airchecks and also collect CDs from main control and does sound check on them to check if the programmes recorded correspond with the labeling on the CDs.

What have you learned already while you have been here?

Answer: Before I got here I had no idea on how sound archives operate but now I have an understanding on how things are being done in the archives. Preservation and digitization of the audio collections using the equipment we have. Basically I never worked with mini disc players before.

What suggestions do you have for us with regards the preservation and digitization of our audio collections?

Answer: Regarding digitization I feel that the methods being used are quite recent and good, but I think it would be better if we start saving our audio collections on big hard drives as we will sooner or later run out of room to store CDs.

Please tell us of any interesting anecdote or funny story with regards your internship here at the SABC

Answer: During the first two weeks of our internship we received lunch vouchers because we were still on training and we thought we were going to get free lunch for the whole 10 months period, and when we found out that that was not going to happen it broke our hearts.

What are you planning to do after this?

Answer: After completing my internship I hope to get a job in a broadcast or production company where I will still be working with audio because I’m really passionate about sound.

Questions and blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.

Related post:
Interview with an intern at the SABC Radio Archives: Obakeng Phiri

Interview with an intern at the SABC Radio Archives: Obakeng Phiri

Obakeng Phiri
Intern at the SABC Radio Archives

The SABC Radio Archives has acquired the services of four interns since March of this year. The interns are here for a couple of months to acquire valuable skills, but also to help with the workflows in the SABC Radio Archives. They have actually changed the way we work.

Obakeng Phiri is a qualified Sound Engineer.

Questions addressed to the intern to understand the type of skills that they have to offer, but also get a better understanding of what they are doing here in the SABC Radio Archives.

Obakeng, please tell us about your personal history as well as your studies. How did you become an intern here at the SABC?
I always wanted to be a DJ, so I used to have a old car radio which had a tape deck, of which I used as my bedroom hi-fi by connecting it with a Video game adaptor and also building my own speakers using the 'printing paper' box to house them in. One day my friend’s father gave me his old turntable and old LP’s for me to use. I did not have an amplifier to connect to the turntable, so I used the car radio for amplification by connecting the RCA from the turntable to the tape deck’s tape head. That’s when my passion for sound presented itself to me for the very first time. When I was in standard seven I entered a DJ competition and I came out second. I have parents who believed in me. I became a professional DJ at clubs, parties and at TNG FM and still managed to get through school at The Pretoria Technical High School. I was introduced to electronics at the high school. After I passed my matric in 2004 I took a year off. I was still confused of what I wanted to study. I then decided to go study sound. I completed my diploma in 2 years’ record time, and started working as a freelancer for different sound companies.  I later got a job at the South African State Theatre, where I worked for two years and left due to the fact that I did not see my self growing there. I got the opportunity to sharpen my skills in recording and in live sound engineering. I did a couple of radio ads and a lot of mastering and music production. I realised that sound was not a career but a lifestyle. It was always my dream to work for a company as big as the SABC, due too a stable income and a job title that required my skills and at the same time keeping me informed about what’s happening in my country. The only problem is that I did not think I would have the privilege to be here due to the fact that there is a sound engineering school within the RBF. I thought they would be given first priority to get hired by the SABC. I prayed to God, applied and He presented me with the opportunity to be here.

What does your job entail here at the SABC?
My job as a radio archivist is preserving SA's radio broadcast history, by listening to radio programmes for different stations like RSG, Ikwekwezi FM, Metro FM, SAFM and Channel Africa and identifying relevant material to be preserved and permanently archived. The audio are retrievable for the SABC for rebroadcasting, if necessary. For example: June 16 audio of the student unrests. To remind South Africans were we've been, and also for clients’ request who want interviews, radio programmes, sport programmes and other materials that is archived.   


What have you learned while you have been here?
I learned to identify the differences between news reports, actuality and interviews for Channel Africa and RSG Monitor and also to identify Radio programmes in the Afrikaans and Ndebele languages. I have done RSG programmes Jacqui praat met, Vers & Klank and Ikwekwezi FM radio dramas like Soul City and Nanje Ngisabuza. I have also learned to record from the analogue tape machine to Steinberg Wavelab software programme. I am recording in and operating Dalet 5.1. I do quality checking of airchecks which comes in the format of CDs from the radio main control and labelling the CDs to be recorded in main control. I have also learned to file the CDs in the store room called the JAD room for permanent storage.

Please tell us of any interesting anecdote or funny story with regards your internship here at the SABC
Say that the SABC was a human body and that each department was a part of that body. Journalists would be the eyes and ears and the managers would be the arms and legs. We would be one of the most important departments in SABC, due too the fact that we are the memory of the SABC and of our country.  We are very important if people want to know what happened in South Africa 50 years ago. We as archivists are the ones that knows how and where to retrieve that information.

What suggestions do you have for us with regards the preservation and digitization of our audio collections?
We must record with higher sample rates like 48 khz and a higher bit depth of 32 bits, so that when we down sample it to 44.1khz to 16 bits in Wavelab we must still preserve the audio quality when conversion from Analogue to digital takes place before burning to CD. We must store all the material digitally using big hard disk drives, to prevent us from losing all the work we have preserved all these years in a fire or damaged mediums like old LPs, tapes, and scratched CDs.

What are you planning to do after your internship?
I am planning to have learned enough too land me a job within the broadcasting industry. I want to pursue my interest in the Radio and Television and Broadcasting Industry, as well as Archiving Studies for future career expansion.  I also want to develop myself by finally registering for LLB studies with UNISA. It is only intended as personal development, because at this stage I see my future in Broadcasting. My dream is to be part of my country’s growth and vision; making South Africa a better place than it is!

Questions and blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.

The Weekly Archivist interview: Request Archivist for English and Afrikaans and Springbok Radio custodian

Retha Buys
SABC Radio Archives

The SABC Radio Archives has Archivists who focus specifically on requests and/or on servicing clients. This is part of a series of weekly interviews where they will all answer the same questions addressed to them.
It is a way of getting a better understanding of what an Archivist do, as well as getting a better insight into availability and exploitation of our collections in the SABC Media Libraries.

The Archivist answering the questions this week is Retha Buys. She is a member of the Request Team in the SABC Radio Archives. She focuses on Afrikaans and English requests.
Added to this she is also the custodian for Springbok Radio, a discontinued radio station of the SABC.  She has been with the SABC Radio Archives for 13 years.

Retha, please tell us a little bit about your life and career.

I was born in Ermelo, Mpumalanga, and grew up in Bethal, also Mpumalanga, where I started and completed my school career.  After that I studied BA (Afrikaans) at UP, while doing Communication Studies at UNISA.  I completed my BA (Hons) Afr at UP with Literary Science, Media Literacy, Poetry, Prose, Editorial Management and Practical Journalism as subjects.   I joined the SABC as a cataloguing Archivist while still busy with my Honours degree.  So, I am a SABC’er through and through, from the start of my career.   I left the Archives for a year or so working in the News Traffic Room, but came back to my passion as a request Archivist, and also inherited the Springbok Radio collection.

Please tell us about a normal day in your studio. What type of requests do you receive?

Requests vary from day to day.  Mostly I do courtesy copies for clients of Radio Stations.  I also receive a lot of Springbok Radio requests from people remembering listening to these programs way back.  It has a lot of nostalgic and cultural value.  I also help journalists and presenters with research regarding re-use of programs for re-broadcast or for documentaries, which I also help compile from time to time.

Tell us more about the collection you focus on and the scope of material you need to preserve.

I handle requests regarding anything that is not News and Actuality, Sport, Music, Channel Africa or Indigenous Languages.  The scope is as wide as the heavens!  Regarding preservation I focus on Springbok Radio, sourcing, cataloguing and preserving as much of it as possible.

Do you struggle with technical difficulties, and if so, what?

The only technical frustration I deal with is not being able to make material available via the internet as I would like to.  I believe one of our main purposes is to make material accessible to the public, and it is my dream, especially for the Springbok Radio material, to give the public more access to this cultural treasure.

If you have an anecdote about a specific piece of interesting audio material, please share it with us. My favourite: “If I don’t see you through the week, I’ll see you through the window” – from Taxi.

Tell us why you enjoy doing the work that you do.

I love working with history, with sound, and with people.  In my job I can combine these.  I love the appreciation when you provided a client with the voice of a loved one who passed away, or could give children the privilege of hearing the voices of their ancestors they never met.  I love giving people the opportunity to experience “the theatre of the mind”, namely radio, and thus expanding their horizons.  I also love all the programs I get to listen to, broadening my general knowledge.  All in all, I am blessed in my job.

Related posts:
Springbok Radio revisited
The Weekly Archivist interview: Team Leader and Music request archivist
The Weekly Archivist Interview: News/Actuality and Sport request archivist

Questions and post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.

Interview with Aaron Magoro at the SABC Record Library

Aaron Magoro
SABC Record Library

This is an interview as part of a series of blog posts to gain a better understanding of the SABC Record Library, as well as part of a series of blog posts about the SABC Media Libraries. It is a way of generating a better understanding of what we do in the different sections that we belong to.

The interview this week is with Aaron Magoro, a Record Librarian in the SABC Record library.

The Record Library houses recorded music, previously unavailable, as well as all genres of recorded music, including Jazz, Gospel, Kwaito, Rap, Rave, Classical, World, Light, Mood, Sound Effects and others. The music is regularly accessed by staff and made available to internal clients.

Aaron, please tell us a little bit about your life and career.

I was born in Soweto. I grew up in the township and I attended primary & higher primary school in Soweto. I moved to Mpumalanga where I went to secondary school to obtain my Junior Certificate.
Before I joined the SABC I was at CNA Warehouse supplying different outlets with magazines and newspapers of local and international content. It was very interesting to work in that department. I only worked there for a short period. After I had left I had a call that there were vacancies at the SABC, upon which I applied for a job here.

Please tell us about a normal day in your office. What music do you give priority to?

A normal day at the office is hectic. We deal with different clients with different needs. Every piece of music to us is a priority as a service to our clients. After I have completed the requests by customers, I do my normal work capturing data. The information being captured is shared with the ten regions of the SABC country wide.

Tell us more about your collection and the scope of material you need to preserve in the record library.

In the library we have a variety of global music. We have a vast collection. It includes the National Anthems of other countries. We came up tops during the Soccer World Cup which was hosted in South Africa. We were the sole independent of the media to rely on in terms of music of other countries.  We receive music as it is presented to us. This point is very important because we don’t limit our collections or censor it.  Different people do research on different projects. It is not up to us to select for them but to cater to their needs of what they require.

Do you struggle with technical difficulties, and if so, what?

Technical difficulties in the record library: It is very few, except for the process and procedures which should be followed very carefully, as well as to remember the password and id users may need in future.

If you have an anecdote about a specific piece of interesting music, please share it with us.

I like a selection of evergreen music with the message of courage; lifting up one’s spirit when you are feeling down. To name a few: Mahalia Jackson, Uncle Satchmo, Brook Benton, Aretha Franklin, and local northern Sotho tradition and township music with a vibe.

Tell us why you enjoy doing the work that you do.

I enjoy a social life. My daily life at work involves socialising with different people, sharing different ideas and most of the time I assist when more information are required.


Related posts:
Interview with a Record Librarian in the SABC Record Library: Sound effects and mood music
Interview with a Record Librarian at the SABC Record Library: William Rapabi
Interview with a Record Librarian in the SABC Record Library: Justice Muthakhi
Interview with a Systems Administrator at the SABC Record Library: Marinda Wolmarans

Questions and blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.

The Weekly Archivist interview with the Manager of the SABC Radio Archives

Bennie Jacobs
SABC Radio Archives

The SABC Radio Archives forms part of the SABC Media Libraries. Archivists specialize in specific areas/languages of expertise with regards the audio collections being kept in the Archives. There are also Archivists who focus on requests, and we have an archivist who focuses on sound restoration.

This is part of the weekly interviews that will try to pose the same questions to each of the Archivists.
Bennie Jacobs is the Manager of the Radio Archives. He was the news and actuality archivist before he was promoted to manager.
He has been with the SABC Radio Archives for 13 years.

Bennie, please tell us a little bit about your life and career.

I was born in Clydesdale, an area in the Free State. We moved with family to the Transvaal, to be specific we moved to Kliptown; then to Eldorado Park and later we moved to Rust–Ter–Vaal in Vereeniging where I am still based. I studied at PU for CHE at the Vaal Campus for a Teaching Qualification. My work experience before SABC was teaching.

Please tell us about a normal day in your office. What tasks do you give priority to?

Managing the operations of the Radio Archives.

Tell us more about the collection in the SABC Radio Archives and the scope of material that need to be preserved.

 The archivists interviewed would have made you aware of the vast collection that is in the Radio Archives. I would want to talk about what we don’t have of which it is very crucial for us to acquire. The content that we don’t have much of in the Radio Archives is material that the SABC never covered during the apartheid years. It is material that dealt with the struggle against apartheid, for an example we don’t have actuality on June 1976, The Women’s March of 1956, actuality on Steve Biko and some of Radio Springbok material that were not archived. As the Radio Archives we are trying hard to rectify the situation by searching for the material. If there is any one that has such kind of material please donate it to the SABC. We will preserve the material.

Tell us why you enjoy doing the work that you do.

The people that I work with are passionate about the work they do in the Radio Archives, and this really gives me reason to be at work every day. The content that we work with is very informative, and we believe in doing the best for our clients.

Related posts:
The Weekly Archivist Interview: acetate restoration in the SABC Radio Archives
The weekly archivist interview: Sound engineer in the Radio Archives
The weekly archivist interview: Ikwekwezi FM
The weekly archivist interview: Music archivist
The weekly archivist interview: News and actuality
The weekly archivist interview: Sport archivist
The weekly archivist interview: Channel Africa collection

Questions and blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.

Interview with the Principal Librarian at the SABC Information Library

Monica van Deventer
SABC Information Library

This is an interview as part of a series of blog posts to gain a better understanding of the SABC Media Libraries and what we do in the different sections that we belong to.

The interview this week is with Monica van Deventer, the Principal Information Librarian who overseas the Newspaper Cutting Section, the Book Lending Section as well as the Magazines in the SABC Information Library. She has been with the Information Library for almost 21 years.

“The core business of the Information Library is to deliver a World Class Service to the users of the library. When given a request to handle, this must be done immediately and very professional.
 Staff must also have sufficient knowledge of the unique nature of the broadcasting environment, in which they work. They must be able to work under stress and also to understand that the journalists work under stressful circumstances.”
(Quote from the SABC Media Libraries website)


Monica, please tell us a little bit about your life and career (Where you grew up, where and what you studied and your work experience before you joined the SABC Information Library)

I was born in 1961 and grew up in Westdene, Johannesburg.  I studied at Vorentoe High School and after that at the Rand Afrikaans University (now UJ). There I obtained my BA Social Work Degree – at that stage it was still a four year degree. After that I worked as a Social Worker at Transvaal Cripple Care Association in Westcliff, Johannesburg for a period of 2 years. After my resignation there, I started to work as a Library Assistant at Rand Afrikaans University at the circulation desk. I studied part-time for my B.Bibl Degree and obtained that a week before our daughter was born. After that I moved to the cataloguing section as a Junior Librarian. I worked there for almost 6 years, resigned and started my career at the SABC – and I am still here! I am also still a registered social worker and would like to practise social work again when I retire from the SABC one day.
On 30 July this year I will be married for 28 years. My husband works at UJ. We have 2 children – a daughter (23 years) and a son (20 years). We love the outdoors and like to do camping, boating, diving and we also like to fish. We live in Krugersdorp and have 3 dogs and 1 parrot.

Please tell us about a normal day in your office. What information and tasks do you give priority to?

A normal working day consists of replying to emails; attend meetings as and when requested; requesting quotations from books and magazines agencies. I do my utmost to manage the Information Library the best I can. We handle information requests immediately and our newspaper articles are being scanned in on a daily basis. We also do our best to have a good magazine and book collection. At the moment all SABC related information – old and new – is our main priority.

Tell us more about your collection and the scope of material you need to preserve in the library.

Our collection consists of books, magazines and newspapers and newspaper articles. Our collections are very broad and include broadcasting related material, biographies, and travel books – everything that you will find in any other library. Our newspaper article collection is huge and we have more than 3 million articles in files. We also have a collection of old SABC Radio Bulletins, of which we are currently scanning on our Newbase System and indexing on our Inmagic Genie System.

Do you struggle with technical and other difficulties, and if so, what?

Not really. We have good, solid specialised systems. When we experience problems, we receive good support from Ronnie Singh at BIT, who looks after our systems from the SABC’s side. If he cannot solve the problem, we contact Mindex or Digital Archiving Systems and our problems usually then get sorted out quickly.

If you have an anecdote about a specific piece of interesting information, please share it with us.

A lot of things happened in the Information Library over the years. We had very nice and enjoyable International Library week’s celebrations, where we invited all SABC staff members to the Library and had nice snacks, competitions and prizes.
Once we also had a client, for whom we borrowed an old book on the Olympic Games from another Library. He didn’t return the book and we got a reminder from that library for the amount of R1000-00. He insisted that he had returned the book and complained for a few months about the library staff not believing him. Eventually, one day, he turned up with the book and a very sincere apology. He found the book in his safe at his home! We were just very relieved that the book has been returned.

Tell us why you enjoy doing the work that you do.

I love working with people and I love handling information requests. The Information Library broadened my general knowledge – specifically when I worked in the newspaper cutting section - and also taught me to build and maintain very good interpersonal relationships. I have a passion for what I do!

Related posts:
Interview with the Librarian at the Newspaper Cutting Section
Interview with the Librarian at the SABC Information Library: Newspaper Cutting Section
Interview with the Information Librarian at the SABC Information Library

Questions and blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.