Library Newsletter Issue 22

Issue 22

Nov 2024

Editor’s note

Welcome to our latest issue! It has been a busy and exciting period for the HKBU Library, and we are excited to share some significant updates and highlights of recent events with you.

The Library has received a generous donation of over 200 copies of the book series Xi Jinping: The Governance of China. This collection, donated by Mr. Yu Fuwen of Beijing Chongxue Cultural Development Co., Ltd., provides invaluable resources for our faculty and students to gain deeper insights into national governance and leadership.

Our Book Culture Club hosted its first event of the academic year, and it was highly appreciated by all attendees. Mr. Yiu Man-kit, an experienced psychiatric outreach social worker, shared fascinating stories from his new book A History of Blood and Tears in Outreach Psychiatric Work. The session, moderated by Prof. Hung Suet-lin from HKBU’s Department of Social Work, offered valuable insights into social work and mental health.

Additionally, the Gender Studies Month celebration featured a diverse array of seminars, activities, and an exhibition, fostering rich, transdisciplinary discussions and explorations in gender studies. Open Access Week promoted the benefits of open access and the Library showcased self-developed and community-generated open access initiatives, promoting scholarship, art, and creativity.

A new digital scholarship project titled “Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong, 1941-1945: A Spatial History Project” has been launched. This is a follow-up to “The Battle of Hong Kong 1941 Spatial History Project”, developed in collaboration with Dr. Kwong Chi Man from the Department of History. This project offers rich, interactive maps and archival documents, providing a nuanced understanding of this significant period in Hong Kong’s history.

Whether you are a student or staff member, we encourage you to take an active role in shaping our Library’s collection through our Book Recommendation initiative. Recommending materials is easy! Finally, we are excited to introduce our new colleague who has recently joined the HKBU Library team. We look forward to the innovative contributions they will bring to our services and community.

Enjoy this issue!

Jeannette Ma
Special Collections and Archives Librarian

The Library receives a donation of President Xi Jinping’s book collection on national governance

The Library received a generous donation of more than 200 copies of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China from Mr. Yu Fuwen, representative of Beijing Chongxue Cultural Development Co., Ltd. The book collection features volumes one to four in nine languages, including Chinese, English, French and German. A donation ceremony was held on 30 September 2024 to acknowledge the donor’s enthusiastic support.

At the ceremony, Mr. Chris Chan, University Librarian, expressed his gratitude to Mr. Yu, stating, “This donation not only enriches the University Library’s collection but also provides faculty and students with a more comprehensive understanding of national governance, development and leadership.”

In his remarks, Mr. Yu encouraged faculty and students to learn the novel governance concepts of the new era, deepen their understanding of the Nation, and actively integrate into the overall national development.

Guests attending the event included Ms. Lily Chan, Director of University Advancement and Secretary-General of the HKBU Foundation; Professor Henry Fock, Director of Student Affairs; as well as library staff.

Wing Woo
Head of Resource Discovery and Management

Celebrating Gender Studies Month: A Month of Engagement and Insights  

Gender Studies Month, which took place from 21 October 2024 to 18 November 2024, has recently concluded, yet the impact of the activities will resonate long after the month’s end. Organised by the Gender Studies Concentration in collaboration with the Library, the theme of the celebration was “Transdisciplinary Dialogues in Gender Studies: Bringing Social Sciences and Humanities Together.” The month was filled with a diverse array of seminars, activities, and an exhibition designed to foster rich, transdisciplinary discussions and explorations in gender studies.  

The Gender Studies Concentration developed a series of enlightening seminars, featuring the insights and expertise of students, faculty, and guests. The seminar topics spanned from gender and language to student reflections on self-representation in assignments, end-of-life challenges for the LGBTQ community, promoting DEI initiatives, archiving LGBTQ history, and mentorship opportunities for LGBTQ students. We appreciate the contributions of the many speakers and participants, whose efforts created stimulating sessions and discussions. 

In addition to these seminars, visitors to the Library had the opportunity to engage with a dynamic exhibition featuring research and creative works from both students and faculty members. This exhibition showcased innovative ideas and projects that deepen our understanding of gender in society, while also providing provocative insights into gender issues alongside relevant Library resources. The exhibition and associated activities encouraged interaction and reflection, promoting independent exploration of these topics as part of academic and lifelong-learning pursuits.  

The seminar series and exhibition contributed to cultivating a vibrant community dedicated to the exploration of gender studies throughout the month. Through this and other collaborative efforts, the Library aims to create opportunities for learning and engagement around transdisciplinary and other topics that establish strong connections and further integrate the Library and its resources into the academic experience. 

Visit the Library’s Exhibitions Online page to learn more about this and other exhibitions and events happening in the Library. 

Bethany Wilkes
Deputy University Librarian

New digital scholarship project: Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong 1941-1945

The Digital Initiatives & Research Cluster is pleased to announce the newest addition to our digital scholarship projects titled “Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong, 1941-1945: A Spatial History Project”. The digital project was developed in collaboration with Dr. Kwong Chi Man, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of History and is a follow-up to “The Battle of Hong Kong 1941 Spatial History Project”. Dr. Kwong’s research project aims to bridge the gap in existing literature and to provide a nuanced understanding of the Japanese occupation from 1941 to 1945. Archival documents, maps, and aerial photographs were integrated with GIS technology offering a dynamic map for users to filter and navigate.

Using a GIS-based interactive map designed with color specific categories, users can easily explore and discover the experiences of Hong Kong’s military, governance, economic, and social perspectives during the occupation period.

This digital project has also recently been featured in Ming Pao (明報) with one full page. Published on 3 November 2024, the article showcased two case scenarios utilizing the provided search filters to display rice sellers and schools in the Whampoa region back in the day.

Come visit the website at:

Yvonne So
Digital Scholarship Manager

【好書會回顧】 –《外展精神科工作血淚史》作家分享會 |
Book Culture Club Event Review – Author Sharing – “A History of Blood and Tears in Outreach Psychiatric Work”

好書會在10月31日舉行今學年首場講座，感謝66位師生校友熱烈支持，創下近年參與人數新高！

The Book Culture Club held its first event of this academic year on 31 October 2024 , with a record-breaking attendance of 66 staff, students, and alumni showing enthusiastic support – the highest participation in recent years!

是次分享會有幸邀得資深精神外展社工，饒文傑校友蒞臨分享。 饒校友以他的新著作《外展精神科工作血淚史》為題，分享他在社工工作上遇過的精彩故事，也談到他對社工的獨到見解。

We were honored to have Mr. Yiu Man-kit, an experienced psychiatric outreach social worker and alumnus, as our guest speaker. Mr. Yiu shared fascinating stories from his new Chinese book A History of Blood and Tears in Outreach Psychiatric Work and offered his unique insights into social work.

好書會當天更邀請到社會工作系系主任洪雪蓮教授擔任主持，透過精彩對談，為大家帶來社工上實用的識別技巧和支持方法，讓參與者更深入理解和應對心理健康問題。

The Book Culture Club also invited Prof. Hung Suet-lin, Shirley, Chair of the Department of Social Work, to moderate the session. Through their engaging dialogue, they introduced practical identification techniques and support methods in social work, helping participants gain a deeper understanding of mental health issues and how to address them.

在活動尾聲，饒校友與參加者近距離交流，更為他們親筆簽署他的另一作品《落入凡間的守護星》，為分享會劃上句號。

At the end of the event, Mr. Yiu had close interactions with participants and personally signed copies of his other work Guardian Star Fallen to Earth, bringing the sharing session to a perfect close. 

本次活動非常成功，所有參加者都表示滿意活動，更有七成人認為內容超乎預期！若然您錯過了當天精彩活動亦不必失望，好書會已上載當天內容至好書會網頁，方便大家重溫。

The event was highly successful, with all participants expressing satisfaction and over 70% saying the content exceeded their expectations! If you missed this wonderful event, don’t worry – the Book Culture Club has uploaded the recording to the webpage for everyone to review.

好書會於下學期還有兩場精彩活動， 請密切留意我們的最新消息， 期待再次與大家相見！

The Book Culture Club will host two more exciting events next semester. Please stay tuned for our latest updates, and we look forward to seeing you again!

Becky Wu
Resource Management Librarian

Celebrating International Open Access Week @HKBU Library

International Open Access Week (21 to 27 October 2024) is a yearly event that promotes Open Access (OA) and encourages the academic and research community to learn more about it. The theme of this year was “Community over Commercialization,” highlighting approaches to open scholarship that serve the best interests of the public and academic communities. Learn more about this year’s theme.

In the spirit of “Community over Commercialization,” here are some HKBU Library’s locally grown and community generated Open Access initiatives, showcasing and sharing scholarship, art, and creativity.

HKBU Scholars 

Explore the contributions of HKBU researchers through the HKBU Scholars portal, which makes research papers and books freely available using green Open Access. Green OA allows authors to share their work through institutional repositories or personal websites, subject to certain restrictions. Please contact our Digital Initiatives and Research Cluster to learn more about your options.

Digital Scholarship Projects 

HKBU Library collaborates with university researchers to use digital technologies to present research in creative and engaging ways through projects.  These global open-access projects preserve scholarly sources, develop research tools, enable broader knowledge dissemination and foster new discoveries.

Search our expanding collection of digital resources, including comprehensive Chinese Medicine databases.

HKBU Library Art Collections 

Explore digitized art collections such as the Tse-tsung Chow Collection, China Through the Eyes of CIM Missionaries, and the Hong Kong Travel Poster Collection. Images are available for personal and educational use under Creative Commons licensing.

Open Access Benefits
Open Access increases the visibility and citation of research, advances equity in knowledge, and promotes public engagement and lifelong learning, contributing to a more informed and equitable society.

Library Materials Recommendation: Your Voice Matters!

Did you know that you can play a crucial role in shaping the HKBU Library’s collection? Whether you’re a student or staff member, your input is valuable in ensuring our resources meet the evolving needs of our academic community.

Recommending materials is easy.  You can use our online form or email your Subject Liaison Librarians directly. When submitting your request, please provide as much detail as possible about the items. All requests will be carefully reviewed based on our Selection and Retention Guidelines, with approval subject to various factors including funding availability.

Your active use and recommendations help us make informed decisions about our collection. Don’t hesitate to suggest valuable resources you discover!

Becky Wu
Resource Management Librarian

New face in Digital Initiative and Research Cluster!

Yvonne So
Digital Scholarship Manager

Hello everyone, I am excited to join the HKBU Library in October 2024 as the new Digital Scholarship Manager. In this role, I am responsible for managing the development of digital projects that support research, teaching and learning. Additionally, I oversee the Library’s research data services focusing on digitization, data analytics and visualization, and data curation.

With a background in IT engineering and public service, I am eager to collaborate with colleagues to advance our digital initiatives and contribute to our vibrant academic community. Outside of work, I enjoy travelling and exploring different places. I love taking photos along my journeys, capturing the stunning landscapes, architecture, and unique cultural delicacies.

I look forward to connecting with each of you!

Yvonne So
Digital Scholarship Manager

Last updated: 28 November 2024