• 2021-09-29

National Central Library has long strived to preserve important scholarly resources in Taiwan. As such, it has created three main databases: the National Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations in Taiwan, the Taiwan Citation Index – Humanities and Social Sciences, and the NCL Taiwan Periodical Literature. Each year the use of these databases is analyzed, showing how theses and dissertations, as well as other scholarly resources in Taiwan are used. Popular research topics in recent years are also highlighted in the analysis. Awards are issued to journal publishers and universities depending on the use of these resources. This is done at the Taiwan Scholarly Resource Influence News Conference. The aim of this endeavor is to thank various fields in their contributions to scholarship and to highlight the face of scholarship resources in Taiwan.

According to the data analysis of NCL’s database use up to the end of 2020 and its use records, meticulous care was taken to arrange the results in order of use. Awards for scholarly resource influence were given based on total use of the resources analyzed. Through recognizing and awarding those institutions for their outstanding contributions to scholarly resources and research, it is hoped that others will be encouraged and motivated to follow their example. That way Taiwan’s research energy can be upgraded on a countrywide level. Awards presented include Journal Resource Contribution Award, Instant Dissemination of a Journal Award, Long-term Dissemination of a Journal Award, Theses and Dissertation Dissemination Award, Theses and Dissertation Open Access Award, and Theses and Dissertation Resource Contribution Award.

On April 26, the 2021 Taiwan Scholarly Resource Influence News Conference was held in NCL’s International Meeting Hall. Over 200 guests were in attendance from various universities and journals. NCL invited Yueh-li Huang, the director of the Lifelong Learning Department in the Ministry of Education, to present the awards. Director Huang extended a special thanks and admiration in her remarks to those scholars, researchers, teachers, and publishers who have over the years been cultivating and enriching the scholarly knowledge cultural assets in Taiwan. At the same time, she also spoke highly of NCL’s efforts in acquiring, depositing, archiving, and seeking access permission for theses and dissertations. All attendees were encouraged to adopt the motto “One thousand persons each going one step forward is better than one person going a thousand steps forward.” The promotion of scholarship and knowledge requires everyone’s input. That way, Taiwan research and cultural soft power can continue to improve.

This time 198 institutions and organizations received awards. To thank them for their contributions to scholarly resources, representatives from the universities and journals receiving awards were invited to present some remarks during the ceremony. For digital theses and dissertations, Huanan University President Tsong-ming Lin and National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology President Ching-Yu Yang represented their respective institutions in receiving 1st place for Thesis and Dissertation Resource Contribution for Private Universities and Thesis and Dissertation Resource Contribution for National Technology Schools, respectively. Journal awards were received by the Journal of Management and Business Research’s editor-in-chief Chia-Chi Huang and National Taiwan University Law Journal’s chief editor Wan-ruu Tseng. The former was awarded 1st in the Long-term Dissemination of a Journal Award (for management studies). The latter was awarded 1st in the Instant Dissemination of a Journal Award and the Long-term Dissemination of a Journal Award (for legal studies). The four representatives particularly thanked NCL in their remarks for providing these awards. Scholarly research and publishing need passion and commitment, and receiving such a recognition is a strong encouragement for both universities and journals to keep pushing forward.

To help researchers in finding sources, NCL holds to a spirit of information freedom and open access. It encourages institutions to authorize the full text of publications, as well as continue to work with the Ministry of Education to promote the open access of theses and dissertations. It also collaborates with the Ministry of Science and Technology to help scholarly resources be made public. This will inspire more people to make available their research materials and make information freer, thus increasing Taiwan’s research energy and international visibility. With the pandemic affecting things, the need for open access to scholarly resources is even more pronounced. Through the 2021 Taiwan Scholarly Resource Influence News Conference, the contribution of universities and journals to scholarly work was highlighted, and the authorization of scholarly works was encouraged. This allows those who do not have easy access to the library to enjoy the abundant scholarly resources available. It also provides a way for more people to see the research achievement of individuals, reduce knowledge monopoly, and prevent plagiarism.