• 2022-09-15

Construction has commenced on the widely anticipated “Southern Branch of the National Central Library and National Repository Library,” with a ground breaking ceremony held on September 5^th, 2022. In attendance were Secretary-General Men-yen Li of the Executive Yuan, Education Minister Wen-chung Pan, Tainan Mayor Wei-che Huang, architect Ching-hwa Chang of the project design supervision team, Chairman Bei-hong Kuo of Formosa Builders, Inc., and other elected officials and honored guests. The ceremony was hosted by Executive Yuan Secretary-General Men-yen Li after which guests held incense in prayer for the successful completion of the project and then came together to break ground with golden shovels, formally marking the commencement of construction on the project slated to be completed for use in December of 2025.

The new project includes the building of two cultural institutions, the Southern Branch of the National Central Library and the National Repository Library, with a total project budget exceeding five billion NTD, including a construction budget of $3,448,320,000 NTD. Construction will be completed by Taiwan's Formosa Builders, Inc, a building company well known for its high quality. The total all-floors indoor area of the Southern Branch of the National Central Library and the National Repository Library will be 5,1097 square meters, including one basement level and five above-ground levels. It will be the only national-level library in southern Taiwan and it will become an incubation center for the development of library information and innovation in library services. In addition, the National Repository Library will provide a complete repository of information on all published books and academic resources in Taiwan. Furthermore, the “National Digital Resource Preservation Center” will collect and preserve valuable digital resources. The government is establishing the Southern Branch of the National Central Library and National Repository Library in southern Taiwan as a national-level database for library resources and cultural records and it will also serve as an important hub for Taiwan's participation in international academic exchange.

During the ground breaking ceremony, Secretary-General Men-yen Li expressed that with the construction of this landmark library building, Taiwan will rise to the ranks of nations with world-class national libraries, greatly enhancing Taiwan's international reputation and bringing pride to the people of Taiwan for having a world-renowned library. In addition, it will enhance people's satisfaction with the quality of governance.

During his speech, Education Minister Wen-chung Pan expressed his great joy in participating in this grand event and collectively bearing witness to the first important milestone in the construction of this national-level library. He stated that the completion of this project will help to satisfy the library information needs of southern residents and at the same time it will lower the average age of library service recipients and provide a more complete range of services. Moreover, it will resolve the serious shortage of library collection space and preserve all books and periodicals published nationwide as well as digital publications and other important cultural resources.

In his speech, Tainan Mayor Wei-che Huang thanked the central government for their strong support and National Central Library for their continued hard work allowing construction on the Southern Branch of the National Central Library to finally commence today five years after the finalization of the project plan in 2017. He expressed his belief that the opening of this library will enhance the spirit of reading among southern residents and provide southern Taiwan with a better reading environment, satisfying the reading needs of people of all ages.