• 2024-12-09

On November 5, 2024, National Central Library Director Han-Ching Wang, accompanied by colleagues, traveled to Pingtung to sign a digitization collaboration agreement with National Pingtung University of Science and Technology. Located at Taiwan's southernmost tip, Pingtung University is a renowned center for agriculture and biotechnology. Founded in 1924 as the Kaohsiung Provincial Pingtung Agricultural School, the university will celebrate its centennial in 2024, making this collaboration particularly meaningful.

Prior to the signing ceremony, Meng-Tzu Yang, a staff librarian of National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) Library, provided guests with a guided walkthrough of the university’s history. The event also featured an exhibition showcasing historical books and documents already digitized, as well as materials related to the university’s history that are slated for future digitization efforts. In his speech, NPUST President Chin-Lung Chang emphasized that since its establishment, the university has focused on agriculture and animal husbandry as its core areas of development. Over the years, as NPUST has witnessed and contributed to the development of Taiwan’s agricultural and livestock industries, it has amassed a significant collection of agricultural books and documents from the Japanese colonial period. President Chang expressed that this collaboration with the National Central Library presents an opportunity for NPUST to comprehensively review and organize its valuable historical archives. He also commended the National Central Library for its dedication to the collection and digitization of educational historical documents.

In his speech, Director Wang began by expressing gratitude to NPUST, President Chang, and Library Director Shan-Ju Chao for their support of this project. Highlighting the digitized History of Cattle Plague in Taiwan as part of the project’s outcomes, she pointed out that the content of this book, along with other historical texts, extends beyond topics of epidemics or agricultural and livestock knowledge. It also reflects the mindset and responses of people at the time, shaped by the limitations of knowledge and material conditions of their era. Preserving the wisdom and experiences of past generations through digital archiving is precisely the core significance of this collaboration.

This collaborative project not only includes the digitization of twenty photographs and yearbooks documenting NPUST’s history but also focuses on preserving over one hundred rare pre-1949 agricultural and livestock-related texts from the university’s collection. Among these is the History of Cattle Plague in Taiwan, published in 1925 by the Colonial Industry Bureau of the Taiwan Governor-General’s Office. The book provides detailed accounts of the outbreaks and spread of cattle plague in Taiwan at the time, along with analyses of its causes and prevention methods, offering invaluable insights for researchers studying Taiwan’s agricultural history and disease control efforts. The digitized materials have been made accessible through platforms such as Taiwan Memory and Taiwan E-book, underscoring the enduring significance of digital preservation for cultural heritage. Moving forward, NCL will continue its collaboration with NPUST to undertake broader digitization projects covering additional historical documents and images related to the university’s history.