Issue 18
Nov 2023
Editor’s note
What a busy and eventful semester! Have you been making good use of the Library’s resources and services?
For new students and colleagues who have joined the University this academic year, here is a chance to voice your opinion regarding the Library via the LibQUAL+ survey. The LibQUAL+ survey is a standardized survey that enables benchmarking among libraries worldwide. In addition to HKBU Library, all of the other seven UGC-university-funded libraries will also participate. Of course, this survey is open to all HKBU students and staff and it comes with a very attractive prize draw too. But most importantly, we want to hear your feedback so we can improve our services.
Speaking of your feedback, one thing we have taken note of from last year is the need to have more EndNote workshops. We heard you! So we arranged a series of EndNote workshops this semester in both in-person and online formats, to help you learn to use this wonderful reference management tool.
Everyone knows librarians love digging out information, but in September, we witnessed the digging out of a time capsule buried 92 years ago in 1931. How cool is that?! The time capsule belongs to the Institute of Sino-Christian Studies located in Tao Fung Shan. The Institute invited us to the unearthing ceremony of the time capsule and gave us the privilege of restoring and digitizing the items. I look forward to seeing them!
To conclude a busy semester, we cannot do without our annual Library-Faculty Connect Day. All staff are welcome! Join us to learn more about how faculty are using the Library, the latest developments at the Library, and chit-chat with us over a cup of coffee.
Maggie Wong
Information Services Librarian
Participate in the HKBU LibQUAL+® Survey 2023 and win attractive prizes!
We are excited to announce the launch of the HKBU LibQUAL+® Survey 2023. This specially designed survey is not just about HKBU Library – it’s about benchmarking our services internationally.
The LibQUAL+® Survey serves as an evaluation tool used by top academic libraries worldwide to measure service quality against global best practices. We invite you to participate in this survey and help us understand your needs better. Your feedback will indeed make a substantial difference as we strive to improve our services and compare our performance against international standards.
The survey will be open from 10 November to 1 December 2023 and will only take about 5-10 minutes of your time to complete.
How to Participate
Please rate each item in all three columns OR select “N/A” (not applicable) if the question does not apply to you. At the end of the survey, provide your HKBU student/ staff email address if you want to enter our lucky draw.
You can choose to take the survey in either English or Chinese:
Chance to Win Prizes!
As a token of our appreciation, all participants who complete the survey will have the chance to enter a lucky draw. The amazing prizes include:
- 1st prize: Apple Watch SE
- 2nd prize: Kobo Libra 2 e-Book Reader
- 3rd prize: Samsung Galaxy Tab A8, WiFi, 10.5”, 4GB/64 GB
- 4th prize: JBL LIVE PRO 2 Bluetooth earbuds (4 winners)
- 5th prize: Eslite Book Coupon HKD100 (40 winners)
To enter the draw, simply provide your HKBU email address at the end of the survey.
Remember, each participant may only respond to the survey once. The lucky draw will be conducted in January 2024, and winners will be notified directly via email.
Please note that all responses will be kept confidential, and no identifying links between responses and individuals will be retained or shared.
For any questions, feel free to reach out to the User Experience and Assessment Team at libuea@hkbu.edu.hk.
We thank you in advance for your time and valuable feedback!
Wallace Wong
User Experience & Assessment Librarian
EndNote Workshops successfully held in Semester 1
In 2021, our library took a significant step towards promoting Academic Honesty and enhancing research processes by subscribing to EndNote. This powerful citation management tool provides an all-encompassing platform for storing, organizing, and applying bibliographic references, thus simplifying academic writing. Feel free to download and install the latest version EndNote 21 from the Library website.
EndNote Workshops were held in October this year to give researchers and students an overview of the tool’s value in our academic setting. There were 146 participants who attended five distinct sessions. Four of these sessions were held in-person, while one was delivered virtually via Zoom, catering to various accessibility needs of the participants. The majority (nearly 70 percent) were postgraduates, showing that this tool is particularly beneficial for those in advanced studies.
The workshop was developed with a hands-on approach in three parts, aimed at enabling efficient utilization of EndNote. The first part focused on how to quickly find and import references from various sources like OneSearch, a library-subscribed database (ProQuest), and Google Scholar. In the second part, participants learned how to manage these references in the EndNote Library, making their research process easier. The final section trained them on how to insert these references into their work and create bibliographies with EndNote, thereby streamlining their academic writing process.
Significantly, over 90% of participants found the workshop relevant to their studies or course assignments, highlighting its success. Given the positive response, the EndNote workshop will be conducted again next semester. This continued support is expected to further enhance our community’s research and academic writing skills.
May Wong
Information Services Librarian
Special Collections and Archives: Salvaging heritage items in the community
Tao Fong Shan Christian Centre in Shatin was built in 1930 by Norwegian missionary Karl Ludvig Reichelt, whose focus was on preaching the Christian gospel to Buddhists. Today it remains a place allowing for deep reflection and conversations.
The Institute of Sino-Christian Studies on Tao Fong Shan knows the Library’s Special Collections and Archives (SCA) team well. About ten years ago, the two parties collaborated to digitize the Reichelt collection (https://tinyurl.com/mts7kd2e) consisting of 152 items in different languages.
In August, the SCA team received a call from the Institute director, who planned to excavate a time capsule buried underneath the foundation stone for Tao Fong Shan in a ceremony on 28 July 1931. According to a contemporaneous account, various publications by the Christian Centre, a list of Board and Committee members as well as Chinese and foreign missionaries, and articles about the Centre, etc. Based on our close relationship, the Institute invited us to help retrieve items from the time capsule and then restore and digitize them.
Long story short, the team was present when the time capsule was taken out, which turned out to be a metal case within a disintegrating wooden box. Due to the passage of time, some of the items inside were not in good physical condition, but luckily those were a minority. Ultimately, we identified 25 individual items and digitized 12, with 3 items too fragile to be further handled.
A worker preparing to excavate the time capsule from its resting place 
One of the items found in the time capsule 
Commemorative booklet for the Time Capsule Opening Ceremony 
Replicas of some excavated items being shown at the Ceremony
This excavation prompted the Centre to create a new time capsule, which hopefully will last for the next hundred years. A special ceremony to celebrate the excavation of the original time capsule and the preparation for the new one was held on 22 September with a number of Library staff invited to attend. Here is a link to the ceremony in Christian Times, a Chinese Christian media: Click here.
Working on heritage items buried nearly 100 years ago presented some challenges to the SCA team, but being entrusted to contribute to such a historical moment was a very gratifying experience.
Wan Yu Wong
Special Collections and Archives Librarian
Join us at the Library-Faculty Connect Day on 5 December
All HKBU faculty and staff are cordially invited to attend the 2023 Library-Faculty Connect Day!
This year, we are taking a different approach by inviting faculty members to share their library stories. It will be a great opportunity for everyone to learn more about existing/potential collaborations and explore how we can work together to enhance teaching, research, and learning at the University.
The event will be hosted in a hybrid format, and you can choose to either attend in-person at the Main Library or join us online via Zoom. Please register and invite your colleagues to take part too.
Date: 5 December 2023 (Tuesday)
Time: 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Venue: Trans-disciplinary discovery commons (Tddc), Level 2, Au Shue Hung Memorial Library (Main Library), Shaw Campus / Online via Zoom
We look forward to seeing you there!
Nancy Chan
Head of User and Information Services
Last updated: 22 November 2023