Here’s how much money UCT needs to rebuild its historic library

A UCT exhibition looks back on the five years since a fire destroyed Jagger Library. Photos: Matthew Hirsch

• UCT’s iconic Jagger Library was burnt down in April 2021.
• The insurance payout is R98-million.
• After years of discussions, the university has an “aspirational dream” for a R250-million library that “celebrates African memory, identity, and creative expression”.
• The shortfall of just over R150-million will have to be made up with fundraising.
• The university is currently hosting an exhibit on the fire and ideas for the new library.

About R250-million – that is how much it is estimated it will take to rebuild the historic University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Jagger Library.

The building, one of the country’s most important research facilities, housed the university’s archives, including the African Studies Collection, and a state-of-the-art reading room.

In April 2021, a fire spread down the slopes of Table Mountain, destroying or damaging several buildings on the university campus. The Jagger building was completely gutted. Now, five years later, there is a new exhibition to recognise the recovery efforts of precious materials.

In January, GroundUp reported that salvageable books and materials were removed and taken to an office park in Mowbray, to be restored and conserved.

The surviving archives have since moved to Deneb House in Observatory, where researchers can access them by appointment.

We have also reported that the Jagger building has remained boarded up nearly five years after the fire.

After the fire, a temporary roof was installed to protect the building. A task team conducted a “re-imagining process” to develop ideas for how the building can be used in the future. This was completed in 2022. The results of this process are published on a webpage. It states that the university is ready to launch a tender process for the library.

Earlier this year, university spokesperson Elijah Moholola said that “not all ideas generated through this process are necessarily viable, equitable or achievable.”

The university says the exhibition, titled “Opportunity in Loss”, highlights what is possible. A preview event was held on 17 April, for funders, donors and volunteers.

As well as the exhibition inside the gutted library, there is also a photographic exhibition outside the Jagger building. The exhibition offers a glimpse of what was once in the library. These include tools, black and white photographs and preserved government documents.

The damage from the 2021 fire that started on Table Mountain and gutted the Jagger Library is still visible.

UCT Libraries Executive Director Ujala Satgoor said the exhibition is an opportunity to “engage with what has been achieved in the last five years”. She told GroundUp that recovery efforts to date have cost the university about R85-million.

With regards to the rebuilding, Satgoor said, “The project implementation committee is in place, and the insurance payout of R98-million informs the rebuilding possibilities”.

“The priority obviously is the architectural brief, which has been through several iterations. We’re now at the final version,” she said. “I would like to see this move much faster, but I recognise that there are certain processes that we have to engage with. You cannot rush it.”

Satgoor said the insurance payout is “not the ideal sum”.

“We do have an aspirational dream for this building, and that comes close to R250-million.”

Satgoor said that once completed, it’ll be an “African Library of note and a space that celebrates African memory, identity, and creative expression”.

She explained that the next project implementation committee meeting would discuss the approval of the architectural brief. It would also need to get heritage approval before rebuilding can begin.

She added that fundraising efforts for the for the rebuild for R150-million or so not covered by insurance would continue. She encouraged people to come and view the exhibition and speak to the team so they can “engage in an informed manner”.

The Jagger Library was built in 1931 and expanded in 1943. It is protected under the National Heritage Resources Act, which means any alterations will require approval from Heritage Western Cape.

In January, Heritage Western Cape CEO Dr Michael Janse van Rensburg told GroundUp that the Jagger building was “of significant heritage value”.

The exhibition is open to the public until 15 May 2026. Two guided tours are conducted on weekdays, with a maximum of 20 visitors per group. Bookings can be made online. The exhibition is closed on weekends and public holidays.

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