• 2022-08-12

Services offered by the National Central Library as well as public libraries in the six counties and cities of New Taipei, Miaoli, Taichung, Tainan, and Taitung were selected as “2022 Best Practices of World Libraries.” Descriptions and images of the selected services were published in the gallery on the American Library Association’s website, to be shared with library professionals throughout the world. The 2022 Best Practices from World Libraries Photo Gallery showcases featured photographs from all around the world and can be seen at: https://sites.google.com/view/icc-programs/2022-photo-gallery. The library services and projects included are the best demonstration of this year’s theme for the association’s initiative: “Global libraries as agents of leadership in our post pandemic world.” This global selection of library services and practices was curated by the American Library Association’s (ARA) International Relations Round Table (IRRT). The concept comes from the 2018 IRRT Emerging Leaders' Project: Towards increasing Engagement of International New Professional Leaders in ALA program, which identified “sharing innovative services and best practices”  and “promoting the concept of a global community of libraries” as the highest priorities. The services selected by the committee best illustrate libraries’ innovation and impact in building strong communities around the world. These services demonstrate ALA’s core values of librarianship in promoting democracy, diversity, social responsibility, lifelong learning and professionalism.

NCL Director-General Shu-hsien Tseng stated that when Taiwan’s COVID-19 pandemic was most severe in May of 2021, libraries across the country were forced to close and could not remain open to the public; however, library services did not come to a halt as a result. Public libraries across counties and cities still actively provided readers with all kinds of reading services, including book shipping, reading bags, and online story times, lectures, learning classes, as well as mobile libraries. Even when libraries began to open with the improvement of the pandemic situation, they provided a safe reading environment by using the best pandemic prevention protocols so that members of the public could safely read in the library and participate in reading events, thereby fully demonstrating the power of libraries to bring comfort to people’s spirits, fulfil social responsibility, and play an important role in the community.

In addition to submitting photographs demonstrating NCL’s services to participate in the selection, NCL also helped review the excellent experiences of public libraries throughout Taiwan promoting reading and offering services during the pandemic and selected services from six libraries to apply to the American Library Association International Relations Round Table for inclusion in the publication of the 2022 Best Practices from World Libraries Photo Gallery. The entirety of the submissions was approved in the selection process so that the hard work and innovation of these Taiwanese libraries could be shared with library professionals throughout the world. The photographs included in this year’s selection include the following four NCL services:

1. The year is enjoying an auspicious, festive and peaceful start
2. Libraries are the backbone of autonomy and lifelong learning
3. Come! Let’s read together with peace of mind
4. NCLibTV Services Delivered to Your Home

The selected city and county public library services are:

1. Facing a world of infinite imagination through reading/ The Public Library of Miaoli County, Miaoli County Government in Taiwan, Miaoli County, Taiwan
2. Children’s reading bags/ New Taipei City Library, New Taipei City Government in Taiwan, New Taipei City, Taiwan
3. Boxes of selected books are ready to be dispatched! /Hsinchu County Public Library, Hsinchu County Government in Taiwan
4. Parkour Mobile Library has arrived! / Taichung Public Library, Taichung City Government in Taiwan
5. Coral is Busy—Marine Education Touring Exhibition/ Library of Cultural Affairs Department, Taitung County Government in Taiwan
6. Online Story House/ Tainan Public Library, Tainan City Government in Taiwan