• 2024-07-03

National Central Library Director-General Han-ching Wang received invitation from the US Council of East Asian Libraries’ (CEAL) Committee on Chinese Materials to give a presentation during their “Crisis vs. Responses” Special Session held in Seattle on March 13^th, 2024; the topic of Director-General Wang’s presentation entitled: “Taking up the Torch of Wisdom- The Next Chapter: Branding Beyond the Pandemic.”

CEAL’s membership is made up of East Asian Libraries located in North America and its objectives are to serve as a forum for discussions about issues of common concern relating to East Asian libraries and East Asian Librarianship, to formulate programs for the development of East Asian library resources, services, and systematic organization of all types of recorded information and knowledge, and to promote interlibrary and international cooperation in East Asian librarianship. The organization is divided into three permanent committees based on the language category of materials: the Committee on Chinese Materials, the Committee on Japanese Materials, and the Committee on Korean Materials.

The Committee on Chinese Materials held this special session under the theme “Crisis vs. Responses,” inviting speakers from Hong Kong, the USA, and Taiwan to share their experiences of how libraries handled challenges including dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, integrating collections, providing academic services and journal access, while also addressing how academic libraries can continue to support research. In her presentation, NCL Director-General primarily focused on sharing how two libraries: NCL and the National Cheng Kung University Library, at which she long served as director, faced crises and simultaneously engaged in innovation, utilizing a variety of resources to continue to provide diverse academic services, disseminate resources, and engage in international collaboration throughout the pandemic. Over 100 professionals and scholars from North America and various regions across the world were in attendance at the session. After the session, Director-General Wang engaged in exchange with international colleagues and experts at libraries that have long worked alongside NCL in international collaboration.