Renewal

As I look out of my office window over the campus there are welcome signs of Spring and new beginnings. Trees are covered in pink or white blossom and as COVID-19 loosens it grip on Hong Kong more people are enjoying our beautiful campus scenery. All Library staff are now back on campus and the Library is gradually becoming busier with more in-person visits. You will see from the newsletter’s content that Library staff have not been idle when working from home, with major new service developments to support Research Data Management and Open Access, and exciting Special Collections news.

USC Collection

Another new development is the very recent inclusion of the renowned Universities Service Centre for China Studies (USC) collection of post-1949 China material into the Library. We welcome USC staff to the CUHK Library. We also welcome this opportunity to further develop modern China studies research collections at CUHK to support our vibrant community of researchers and students. And we hope when travel is easier, we will welcome the many international scholars who have made such notable use of the USC Collection. Our work with the Collection will be guided by an Advisory Group that includes eminent modern China scholars, and will soon be recruiting a Modern China Studies Librarian. I am sure there will be more on this topic in future newsletters.

Happy Year of the Metal Ox!

May I wish you and your families a happy, prosperous and above all healthy Year of the Ox! I always enjoy reading the horoscopes at Chinese New Year. This year I was struck by the characterization of the Ox.

“In the Chinese Zodiac, the Ox is very hardworking and methodical…
This is going to be a year when we will fully feel the weight of our responsibilities,
a year when it is necessary to double our efforts to accomplish anything at all.”

CUHK Library staff embody the strengths of the ox, hardworking, methodical and highly responsible. These characteristics have enabled the Library to continue serving our patrons both online and in person throughout the Year of the Rat, and will certainly serve us well during the Year of the Ox! 

Louise Jones
University Librarian