• 2024-03-01

National Central Library’s new Director-General, Professor Dr. Han-Ching Wang was sworn in at 2PM on February 1st, 2024 in NCL’s Audio-Visual Briefing Room during the “National Central Library Interim Director and New Director Handover Ceremony.” Minister of Education Wen-chung Pan attended the ceremony, during which he gave a speech and oversaw the handover. Other valued guests in attendance included Former NCL Director-General Wen-lu Wang, Former NCL Director-General Min Ku, National Cheng Kung University President Dr. Meng-ru Shen, Library Association of the Republic of China (Taiwan) Chairman Hao-ren Ke, Tamkang University Chueh Sheng Memorial Library Director Tina Song, as well as colleagues from libraries and the publishing industry throughout Taiwan.

During his remarks, Minister Wen-chung Pan expressed that Director-General Wang, recipient of a Master of Science Degree from the Institute of Oceanography and a Ph.D in Animal Science at National Taiwan University, has shown outstanding performance in multiple fields. In the field of science, she has received distinction as the recipient of the “Young Scientist of Excellence Award” at the 11th annual Taiwan Outstanding Women in Science Awards as well as the National Science and Technology Council’s Wu Ta-You Memorial Award. For her contributions in teaching, she was awarded the “Exemplary Teacher Award” at the 9th annual Hsing Yun Education Awards. During her time as the Director of the National Cheng Kung University Library, she led that library in the work for which it received the Ministry of Education’s Library Contribution Award and was also a two-time recipient of the “Outstanding Librarian Award.” In addition, she successfully implemented a Mobile Library Program, bringing University library collections and NCKU students and faculty to rural areas to expand the scope of library services. Minister Pan expressed that he looks forward to NCL continuing to serve as a cornerstone for the preservation of Taiwanese documents, promotion of reading culture, and facilitation of international cultural exchanges.

In her remarks, Director-General Dr. Han-ching Wang stated that on the foundation of NCL’s 90-year history, she will base her initiatives on the six core values ​​of NCL’s current 2021-2030 development strategy blueprint, further incorporating additional focus on the ten themes of: “vibrancy, tolerance, cultivation, taste, humanities, science, aesthetics, interdisciplinarity, creativity, and practice.” NCL will actively establish collaborative partnerships with various types of libraries, academic research institutions, publishing houses, and members of the arts and culture sector, continuing to expand and discover new paths for preserving and passing on the cultural heritage within historical archives. Under the new Director-General’s leadership, NCL will work to enhance the public's acumen in utilizing library information resources and various types of knowledge archives, promote bidirectional collaborative efforts to cultivate literacy, comprehension, and appreciation in order to deepen national competitiveness, integrate library collections, research explorations and STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) competency in order to develop a new cross-generational mindset combining humanities and the sciences. This work aims to utilize and expand the social influence of National Central Library while also responding to the global demand for new capacities of knowledge to achieve sustainable development, and will transform NCL into a symbol of global influence.

In Chairman Hao-ren Ke’s remarks, he expressed that during her tenure as director of the NCKU Library, Director-General Wang actively visited and exchanged experience with various university libraries, promptly implementing what she learned within the NCKU library. Her outstanding initiative left a deep impression. In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Director-General Wang integrated virtual and in-person resources ensuring uninterrupted learning for NCKU students and faculty.

Director Tina Song gave remarks during which she first expressed her great respect for the accomplishments of former Director-General Shu-hsien Tseng during her tenure. Director Song recalled a previous visit Director-General Wang made to the Tamkang University Library with NCKU library colleagues and joked that although most librarians radiate with knowledge and passion concealed underneath a shy personality, during their visit she observed that Director-General Wang’s leadership brought about a transformation among the NCKU librarians. Their warm cohesiveness left a deep impression on Director Song. Director Song also expressed that she looks forward to Director-General Wang continuing to promote Taiwan’s soft power and helping Taiwan to be seen upon the world stage during her tenure as NCL Director-General.

President Meng-Ru Shen also gave remarks during which he praised Director-General Wang as a rare example of excellence in both academic and administrative realms. He described her three greatest achievements during her time as NCKU Library Director: First, turning the library into a warm and welcoming space and making it the site of student psychological counseling; Second, through the subtle gesture of the “Leave a Light On” initiative, the library offered students a space to continue working hard at their studies; Third, the successful fundraising initiative “National Cheng Kung University Library─The Cornerstone of Wisdom” received enthusiastic response. The three above examples illustrate that Director-General Wang is a passionate, proactive, and committed leader.

After the commencement of the ceremony, Director-General Wang invited the Minister of Education and other honored guests to take a group photo to commemorate the occasion. Director-General Wang thanked Minister Pan for his encouragement and expressed that she looks forward to forging ahead with NCL colleagues.