• 2008-04-16

The National Central Library (NCL) presented a glimpse of yesteryear Taiwan at its exhibit during the 16th Taipei International Book Exhibition (TIBE), held from February 13 to 18, 2008. The NCL display highlighted rare books, historic contracts, old photographs, woodblock prints, postcards and historic maps of Taiwan in the library collection, opening a door to the beauty of Taiwan in former times. The two display signboards further underscored the exhibit theme with a collage of historic images of Taiwan. Under the theme, "The More You Taste of Yesteryear, the More the Flavor Lingers," the NCL display provided an overview of its extensive collection of research resources. This collection includes over 2,600 historic contracts, about 8,000 genealogical records, over 4,000 scenic postcards from the Japanese occipation period, and a complete set of all 1,171 "Patriot Lottery Tickets" issued in Taiwan. The NCL has also obtained reproductions or usage authorizations through digitization cooperation projects with domestic and overseas libraries. These new collection materials have been arranged and coverted to digital format for public online access. The NCL exhibit at this year's TIBE specifically hightlighted systems related to images of Taiwan. The NCL also presented various library publications for sale, including Tainan during the Japanese Occupation Period, Taipei during the Japanese Occupation Period, Feast for the Eyes: Historic Photographs of Taiwan, An Introduction to Selected Online Resources for Taiwan Studies, Catalog of Chinese Electronic Resources, A History of Books, Catalog of Taiwanese Maps (2000-2006), and Concealing to Reveal; The "Private” and “Sentiment” in Chinese History and Culture (CD-ROM), and other highly rated books. The library also displayed a Catalog of Selected Publications of the National Central Library in Chinese and English, with brief introductions and ordering information.