Issue 16
June 2023
Editor’s note
Being a user focused organisation, the Library is always very keen to reach out to our community. Between 27 March and 28 April, we conducted an online Library Service survey and there is a quick overview of the results in this issue. There is also information about the new Chinese Medicine Library newsletter, a channel to connect with the faculty and students of the School of Chinese Medicine.
The long-planned renovation of Levels 6 and 7 in the Main Library reached a major milestone on 15 May when the two floors were closed to users to allow the spaces to be cleared. Turning from renovation to innovation, the Special Collections & Archives team have implemented a new archival management system that you can read about in this bumper issue.
Last but certainly not least, we welcome two new librarians to our Information Services and Shek Mun Campus Library teams. Please do not hesitate to contact them for your information needs.
Wan Yu Wong
Special Collections and Archives Librarian
Library Service Survey
To gather valuable input on how well the Library is meeting the needs of our students, faculty, and staff, the Library recently instituted a Library Service Survey. We received overwhelming support from the HKBU community, with 2,379 respondents in total participating.
The survey ran for one month between 27 March and 28 April 2023. We were delighted to see that many respondents provided valuable comments and suggestions on their experience with the Library. Detailed survey results and key findings will soon be available on the Library website.
Some of the key areas covered in the survey include:
- Overall satisfaction with the Library’s services, resources, and facilities
- Utilization of physical Library spaces like the Academic Commons, study zones, and more
- Access to the Library’s digital resources, including e-books, e-journals, and databases
- Areas requiring enhancement to better fulfil user needs
- Potential new services to be provided
To express our gratitude for the support and involvement of our Library users, a lucky draw was organized for survey participants.
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Hearty congratulations to all the winners!
Your feedback is invaluable to enabling us to enhance the Library experience for all members of the HKBU community. Thank you again to all who took the time to participate in this year’s Library Service Survey. We appreciate your feedback and count on your input going forward as we strive to enhance our resources and services.
Wallace Wong
User Experience and Assessment Librarian
Update on the Space Enhancement Project for Levels 6 & 7 in the Main Library
The space enhancement project of the Main Library reached its first big milestone when the two floors were closed to users at the end of the examination period. Prior to this, different measures were taken to mitigate the impact on users. These included encouraging all users to borrow materials likely to be required for the next academic year, relocation of high-use items to Levels 4 and 5, etc. Further measures, such as subscriptions to major e-book databases, are under planning.
On 1 June a massive effort began to pack books on these two floors and ship them to offsite storage. On average about 800 boxes of boxes were packed for transfer every day, and the mammoth task was completed in two weeks. Furniture such as study desks, computer tables, chairs and metal book shelving will be donated/recycled as much as possible. The space enhancement project is currently on track for the construction phase to begin in mid-July. We will keep the HKBU community up to date with the progress on these major improvement works.
Editor
Chinese Medicine Library strengthening connections with the Faculty
The Chinese Medicine Library (CML) Collection and Services Promotion Newsletter (https://library.hkbu.edu.hk/cml/chinese-medicine-library-newsletter/) is a new information service for the faculty and students of the School of Chinese Medicine (SCM), with the aim to promote the CML collection and services in support of the teaching and learning, clinical and research activities of SCM. The newsletter provides information about newly-arrived books (print and electronic), new textbooks on Chinese Medicine, CML special collection, useful databases and tools, as well as library facilities and important news or notices of the Library.
The first issue of the newsletter was published in March 2023 and three issues were published by the end of May 2023. Apart from the topics mentioned above, the newsletters also covered the CML collection related to the theory and practice of Chinese Medicine on COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. By sharing the latest developments in CML collections and services, the newsletter will strengthen communication with SCM faculty and students in a structured way.
David Su
Chinese Medicine Librarian
ArchivesSpace : managing and delivering archival collections
The Library has successfully implemented ArchivesSpace, an innovative archival management system that offers a centralized hub for managing digital finding aids, accession records, resource records, as well as records of digital objects, such as images, or audio and video files. This open source application allows the Library to exercise better control over the Library’s archival collections, particularly for materials that are subject to legal or ethical restrictions. ArchivesSpace documents how materials are processed and stored, along with applicable restrictions, with the content described according to archival standards.
Users of archival materials rely on finding aids, or detailed guides, to the content of archival collections to find what they need. In the past these finding aids were presented as individual documents in PDF formats. With ArchivesSpace, researchers are now able to easily locate materials across multiple collections in the finding aids, using the search tools provided. This is a marked improvement to facilitate research.
The platform also provides online access to selected digital objects, such as the image of the gravestone rubbing of Rev. Robert Morrison and digitized speeches of Dr. Elsie Tu. This feature is particularly important in today’s digital age, where researchers expect to access content online 24/7.
You can find the link to ArchivesSpace from the homepage for Library Archival Collections (as shown in the image here). We look forward to expanding our collection coverage in ArchivesSpace and providing users with the resources they need to advance their research. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to collect, process and digitize archival materials.
Alice Yue
Library Officer (Special Collections and Archives)
New face in the Information Services team
Hello everyone, I am May Wong, a new Information Services Librarian. I joined HKBU Library in May 2023. Although I come from a science background, I dreamed of working in a Library when I was young. I obtained my first library diploma after graduating from my Bachelor’s degree in Biology. Soon I found my knowledge in the library and information science field was not enough, I decided to deepen my knowledge with the Master’s degree in Information Studies at Charles Sturt University.
I started my library career as a library assistant in a secondary school, where I learnt basic operation and management of a school library, and developed strong connections with students and teachers. I wondered what the differences are between working in school libraries and academic libraries, therefore I moved to the HKU Law Library as a library assistant. In the Law Library I have learnt comprehensive library services including library operation, library premises, user education and reference services. It was a bit challenging as the skills and knowledge are completely different for school libraries and academic libraries. I enjoy working in the academic libraries which bring more job satisfaction. Now I am glad to join HKBU Library as an Information Services Librarian and hope to devote myself in helping students, instructors and researchers in their success of learning, teaching and research. I look forward to meeting you all in the library.
May Wong
Information Services Librarian
From library ambassador to librarian
Hi, I am Silvia, the new Assistant Librarian at the Shek Mun Campus Library (SMCL) and Liaison Librarian for the College of International Education (CIE)’s Associate Degree and Self-funded Degree Programmes (Arts and Languages, Business, Social Sciences). My major responsibility is to provide high quality instructional, research, and references services to students and staff at the CIE. Serving as a Liaison Librarian, I work collaboratively with the library coordinators to identify resources that best support their teaching and research needs.
Becoming a professional librarian has been my career goal since I was a library ambassador at secondary school. To prepare myself for professional development in the field of library and information studies, I completed my Bachelor’s Degree in Information Management and Master’s Degree in Library and Information Management at the University of Hong Kong.
When I was a fresh graduate, I worked at the Gratia Christian College Library, a small but new academic library, where I learned the planning and development process of setting up a new library. Then, I worked para-professionally as a library assistant at the University of Hong Kong Libraries for nearly six years. It gave me an insight to the function, environment and operation of a large-scale academic library. I gained solid experience in delivering library workshops to library users and developing online courses to support self-paced learning. Now, I am grateful to commence my first professional role at HKBU Library and I am excited to start and work with you. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Silvia Tam
Shek Mun Campus Assistant Librarian
Last updated: 29 June 2023