• 2024-10-05

On June 25, 2024, NCL Director-General Han-ching Wang was invited to speak at Auburn University in the US by its librarian, Dr. Shali Zhang. She spoke on developments at and features of NCL, including Taiwan Memory, NCLibTV, OPEN LAB, and NCL’s Southern Branch of the National Central Library & National Repository Library, as well as education promotion strategies and future plans. The two librarians also took advantage of this opportunity to discuss the preservation and digitization of ancient Chinese books. They both hope to increase their opportunities for collaboration in the future.

Auburn University was established in 1856 and is a public, research-oriented institution of higher education. Its student body numbers over 30,000 and its library boasts a collection of 3.2 million books, 2.6 million government documents, 2.5 microfiche, and over 148,000 maps and 35,000 current periodicals (Auburn University Library’s website, June 2024). During her speech at the AU library, Director-General Wang discussed the Taiwan Memory database NCL created, which includes old postcards, photos of various places, books, gazetteers, contracts, and stelae rubbings from the Japanese occupation period. The aim is to make historical materials in Taiwan more accessible both locally and overseas. In addition, Director-General Wang talked about NCLibTV, which allows patrons to use digital TV and the library’s app to enter a virtual smart library and access library resources and services. NCL also has an OPEN LAB it created which provides a base for technological use and innovative experiments. All of these were well received by attendees.

After the speech, attendees were eager to speak and interact with Director-General Wang. Then she toured Auburn University’s main library, other department libraries and special collections, as well as the Taiwan Center of Chinese Language and Culture and departments engaged in technology research. In this first collaboration, there were many happy memories created and a window was opened for more collaborations in the future.