National English Literary Museum

The National English Literary Museum (NELM) houses extensive archival material relating to Southern African English Literature. It is located in Grahamstown.

NELM's principal functions are to collect and conserve material evidence pertaining to this literature, to publicise and popularise it, and to provide all sections of the reading public, both locally and abroad, with the means of access to it.

NELM has three principal collections: manuscripts, books and journals, and press clippings. The museum also conducts many outreach programmes (mainly focused on school pupils and university students) aimed at promoting and creating awareness of South Africa's rich literary heritage.

History

The museum was established in 1972. Prof Guy F Butler, the Head of Department of the Rhodes University English Department and himself a poet, became aware of the need for the manuscripts of South African authors to be collected. His collection of his and other writers' material soon became too large for the cupboard he at first housed it in. By an Act of Parliament, NELM was eventually born.

Over the years, NELM has evolved into a national resource, housing a significant amount of literary works. In 1980, NELM was declared a cultural institution, governed by the Cultural Institutions Act 119 (1998).

Green museum

NELM moved into a R147-million, purpose-built building in Worcester Street, on the outskirts of Grahamstown, in 2016. A project of the Department of Arts and Culture, it was executed by the Department of Public Works. The building has been certified by the Green Building Council of South Africa as the first five-star Green Star certified project in the category Public & Education Buildings in South Africa. There are numerous display areas as well as humidity-controlled sealed archives. The large ‘green’ roof over the collections’ storage area enables constant temperature control and substantially reduces electricity consumption. There are exhibition spaces, a small lecture theatre and an endemic landscaped garden.

References

Official NELM website: http://www.nelm.org.za/

SA's first education building receives 5-star Green Start rating https://propertywheel.co.za/2017/05/sas-first-education-building-receives-5-star-green-star-rating/

NELM to become SA's first 'green museum' http://www.grocotts.co.za/2014/04/16/nelm-to-become-sas-first-green-museum/

http://www.greenbusinessguide.co.za/green-services/nelmuseum-grahamstown/

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