• 2019-10-31

NCL has long given strongemphasis to international exchanges. Not only does it maintain greatinteractive relationships with foreign representatives stationed in Taiwan, butalso is favored with frequent visits by libraries from China and abroad. Between July to September 2019 a total of 36 visitors in 8 delegations visited ortoured NCL.

On July 16, Liu Wenling from Indiana University’s East Asian Library met with Director-General Tseng, duringwhich they discussed the holdings and resources of both libraries and relateddevelopment policies, as well as sharing past experiences in aspects related tothe acquisition and cataloging of ancient books. This was also an opportunityto arrange future collaboration regarding the Union Catalog of Rare Booksdatabase. On July 30, NCL invited University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Librarian Elaine L. Westbrooks to speak on “The Future of Scholarly Dissemination: Toward a Basic Construct of Open Access.” She shared how tocreate a sustainable development of future scholarly dissemination. Before her lecture, she visited NCL Director-General Tseng, where both parties discussedresources, library operations, and related services. They also planned forfuture collaboration regarding the Union Catalog of Rare Books database. On August 16, the SlovakEconomic and Cultural Office Taipei representative, Mr. Martin Podstavek visited Director-General Tseng and discussed issues regarding collaboration on exhibitionsand displays for select original works by children’s books illustrators housedin the Slovak National Gallery. The hope was alsoexpressed that both parties could have even more opportunities for exchange andcollaboration in the future. On September 20, Mr. Hanno Lecher, the Head Librarianat Heidelberg University’s East Asian Library visited NCL to discuss possiblecollaboration. Many ideas were shared on both sides regarding potentialcollaboration on Taiwan Resource Centers for Chinese Studies and the UnionCatalog of Rare Books database. On September 24, MalaysiaNew Era University College Tan Lark Sye Library Director Zhuang Luyu led a3-person delegation to NCL.They arrange a tour of NCL’s Digital Resource Centernad were shown the various serivces and facilities at NCL. In addtion, therewere able to experiencethe Twin Oaks VR display that is currently on display. Due to the sustain goodrelations between the libraries in international publication exchanges,Librarian Zhuang brought 40 volumes of Chinese and Western-language books as adonation to NCL’s collection.

In terms ofdelegations that visited NCL, on July 11 a total of 11 persons from the 2019 International Conference on Library and Information Science (ICLIS) paid a visit. Director Fan from the International Cooperation Division personally received them. Apart from understanding NCL’s organization and operations, key initiatives, anddigitized resources and services, they also spent much time exchanging ideasand discussing issues faced in digitizing library holdings. After the meeting,they toured NCL’s Digital Center,special collections, and other service facilities. On July 25, Mr. RafaelJoseph del Mundo, a library staff in the legislative resource department of the Philipino Senate came with four others to visit NCL. He not only sought tounderstand the general conditions of NCL but also was introduced to informationon the Center for Chinese Studies’ research grants for foreign scholars byDirector Fan from the International Cooperation Division. It was also arrangedfor them to tour each floor of the library and the various service resourcesthere. On September 3, a group of 13 graduate students in cross-strait civiland business law from Tsing-hua University, Nanjing University, ChinaUniversity of Political Science and Law, Beihang University, and Hohai University visitedNCL. They toured the facilities and services at the library, as well as learnedhow to make use of NCL’s resources.