CUHK Library E-newsletter

Library Senior Leadership

In this edition, we shine a light on the Library senior leadership, who support the University Librarian in developing and steering our service.

Mr. John Bahrij, Deputy University Librarian

I have been at CUHK since 2006 when I came to head the Lee Quo Wei Law Library (Law Library) being created for the new Faculty of Law. Over the years my responsibilities have increased and in 2023 I was promoted to Deputy University Librarian. As well as deputizing and providing support for the University Librarian, my role encompasses overseeing User Services which coordinates and provides access and borrowing services amongst other functions for the University community. I also oversee Research & Learning Support and the Faculty Liaison team which provides training and research support services for users at CUHK. My remit encompasses all of the CUHK branch libraries, which are based on our Shatin campus but also at the Prince of Wales Hospital and in the Bank of America Tower. Some of the branch libraries support specific faculties or schools like the Law Library, Li Ping Medical Library (Medical Library), and Architecture Library whilst New Asia College Ch’ien Mu Library, United College Wu Chung Library, and Chung Chi College Elisabeth Luce Moore Library support both their faculties and the work of the Colleges.

Ms. Patti Cheung, Associate University Librarian

I am responsible for providing leadership for Technical Services, Special Collections and University Archives. We are dedicated to acquiring, cataloging, and preserving resources that support the university’s teaching, learning, and research. We are also committed to making our diverse collections, particularly our unique Special Collections and Archives, more accessible and engaging for all users. By working closely with Faculty and students, we hope to ensure that our collections and services meet the evolving needs of our community. We are expanding digital access, enhancing our physical and digital collections, and fostering partnerships both within CUHK and beyond.

Mr. Ryun Lee, Associate University Librarian

In my new role as Associate University Librarian at CUHK Library, I lead Digital Initiatives and Library IT & Systems, fostering a culture of innovation to enhance our library's capabilities. With AI transforming the landscape, I prioritise the development of digital services and infrastructure that streamline operations, create seamless user experiences, and support CUHK's goals of advancing knowledge, research, and education through cutting-edge technology and data-driven strategies.

How the Library is Supporting Our Faculty 's Research Impact by Making CUHK Research More Accessible to the World

Celebrating the First Anniversary of Open Book Hong Kong (OBHK)

OBHK is a visionary pilot project dedicated to transforming the dissemination of Chinese academic monographs through OA. Through collaboration between the libraries and university presses of CUHK, City University of Hong Kong, and The University of Hong Kong, OBHK provides free online access to high-quality scholarly books. Since its launch in July 2024, the initiative has made 45 titles freely available, including the recent release of the 5th batch of books in July 2025. During its first 10 months, the platform has received over 480,000 views from more than 170,000 visitors worldwide, the majority of which have originated in China (67%), Hong Kong (15%), and regions such as the United States (5.6%), Japan, and Taiwan. The project’s focus on multilingualism and bibliodiversity ensures that high-quality research from Hong Kong is accessible globally, thus filling a critical gap in the OA publishing of Chinese-language monographs.
OBHK’s success and mission were recently highlighted in a conference paper titled Open Books Hong Kong: Multilingualism and Bibliodiversity, which was co-authored by Mr. Benjamin Meunier, University Librarian, and Ms. Jenny Lam, Open Science Librarian. This paper, prepared for the World Library and Information Congress in August 2025, highlights OBHK’s role in democratising knowledge, addressing challenges in the OA publishing of Chinese monographs, and promoting global academic collaboration. You can explore the paper and learn more about OBHK’s innovative approach here.

The Library invites you to visit the OBHK website to explore the entire collection of 45 OA titles. Please join CUHK Library in celebrating the first anniversary of OBHK and discover how this initiative is continuing to break barriers in Scholarly Communications.
Guidelines on Open Access Publication

The CUHK Library is devoted to supporting the University’s mission to widely disseminate knowledge that enhances the well-being of the global community. This devotion is demonstrated by the Library’s involvement in creating the Guidelines on Open Access Publication (‘The Guidelines’). In 2024, the Publication Ethics Committee initiated development of The Guidelines to set expectations for OA publication at CUHK. Aiming to understand the needs of the CUHK community, the Library conducted a series of consultation activities, including meeting with Faculty Deans and their delegates and with Library professional staff; an online survey of academic staff, senior research staff, administrative staff, and research postgraduate students; and an online seminar and sharing session for these groups. After determining the communities’ needs and concerns and reviewing the OA policies of peer universities, the Library drafted an initial document and invited major stakeholders to comment on and further develop it.

The University endorsed The Guidelines in July 2025 and will include them in its research policy. This new direction will require researchers to provide their published journal articles in OA format, either on the publisher’s website, which may require researchers to pay an Article Processing Charge (APC), or by depositing the Author's Accepted Manuscript (AAM) at no cost in the Institutional Research Information System (IRIS). The latter option is aligned with the approach adopted by the University Grants Committee, which appears to be cost-conscious about the expensive APCs charged by publishers. Currently, IRIS contains only 36 AAMs. The Guidelines are expected to enhance the community’s awareness of this self-deposit option for OA. The Library will ensure copyright compliance in IRIS and promote The Guidelines.

The Library has provided various OA services. Its subscription funds have been partially allocated through the CUHK OA Publishing Plan to cover the APCs of OA articles for corresponding authors affiliated with CUHK. The Plan waived the APCs of 1160 OA articles in 2024-2025. Regarding other OA options that do not involve APCs, the Library initiated OBHK for research monographs and is developing a new mega journal.
Institutional Research Information System (IRIS)

The CUHK Library plays an important role in managing the University’s research output in IRIS. The primary objectives of IRIS include comprehensively capturing CUHK’s research-related information, enabling the University to use such information effectively for various purposes, and showcasing the CUHK’s societal impact for the public.

In eye anatomy, the iris is the circular membrane around the black pupil that determines the unique colour of an individual’s eyes. Similarly, IRIS, as an information system for CUHK, provides a lens through which staff and the public can access the unique, multifaceted endeavours of researchers at CUHK. IRIS thus not only serves as a one-stop repository but also provides 1,800 scholars with researcher profiles to showcase their unique scholarly contributions.

The IRIS backend system was launched in January 2025, migrating more than 200,000 research output records successfully from the previous system to IRIS. To support the launch, the Library participated in two university-wide briefing sessions and eight Faculty outreach workshops involving over 540 participants in total. An online user guide with more than 100 pages has been created for the research output module and is available on the IRIS webpage. Besides user enablement, the Library is also responsible for harvesting publication information from an external citation database, data checking and cleaning, OA, and handling various requests submitted to the system. The IRIS Public Portal will be opened to the public later this year. The Library will continue to enable users through various channels such as regular workshops, Faculty outreach, department-requested workshops, and collaborations with the University Planning Office, Information Technology Services Centre, Research Office, and Human Resources Office and by addressing users’ inquiries.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Enhancing Helpdesk Operations with AI and Automation

The Library IT & Systems team has implemented an AI-powered email classification workflow that uses Microsoft Power Automate, aiming to enhance the efficiency of internal helpdesk operations. Incoming emails are now analysed by AI, which interprets their contents and assigns each case to the appropriate support staff according to predefined responsibilities. This automation has greatly improved the accuracy and consistency of assignments, reduced the manual workload, enabled faster response times, and streamlined our services.
Enhancing The Hong Kong Writers and Artists Biographical Database (HKBDB) Workflow with AI

Launched in 2021, HKBDB is a platform for query and data visualisation that supports digital scholarship projects and data analysis related to Hong Kong studies. AI has been introduced to optimise Named-Entity Recognition (NER) tasks, aiming to expand the data coverage of HKBDB. AI-driven algorithms enable the efficient extraction of key information, such as names, organisations, events, and locations, from diverse and unstructured Chinese texts. Using the existing training dataset and few-shot prompting techniques, the system has achieved a 93.05% NER accuracy rate. In addition, a logging and approval mechanism, managed by Library staff, has been incorporated to ensure quality control and adaptability to the different writing styles found in Hong Kong biographical texts, further improving the data capture accuracy.

This AI-powered interface has significantly reduced the need for manual extraction, thus saving substantial time and resources. Its entity de-duplication function has streamlined data migration. Compared with traditional Excel-based methods, the AI system has reduced processing and training times by 30%. Tailored for Hong Kong biographical materials, the system precisely captures the region’s unique cultural and linguistic nuances, offering an efficient and forward-looking solution for preserving and promoting Hong Kong’s cultural heritage for future research and scholarship.

Welcome to the New Academic Year

The Library hopes that you enjoyed a relaxing yet productive summer and is happy to welcome you back for what is sure to be a great year. Here are some of the new and enhanced services we have in store for you.

New integrated platform for submitting and managing Interlibrary Loan (ILL) and Document Delivery Service (DDS) requests

Eligible users can now submit ILL and DD requests directly through LibrarySearch. This new integrated service platform will enhance your experience by allowing you to:

Submit your ILL and DDS requests directly via LibrarySearch, without needing to log into a separate system;
Track your requests and download the requested articles or book chapters in My Library Record; and
Enjoy the convenience of managing these requests, as well as other circulation activities, in a one-stop manner.

New Study Pods and Group Study Pod at the Learning Garden and Medical Library

In addition to various library study spaces that cater for your diverse study needs, we have introduced two Study Pods at the Learning Garden, as well as a Study Pod and a Group Study Pod at the Medical Library. These new facilities are designed to provide comfortable and conducive environments for both individual and group study sessions. Come and explore these new spaces to enhance your learning experience! [Places to Study]

Enhancement of Multi-function Photocopiers (MPFs) and system upgrade of Library Personal Computers (PCs)

MFPs have been enhanced to make Wi-Fi printing from both Windows and Mac laptops more convenient. Users no longer need to install a separate printer driver for each MFP – a single downloadable driver allows you to select from all available MFPs [Wi-Fi Printing]! The enhanced MFPs also support direct printing from USB flash drives, with no PC login required! Receipt printing is also supported. Furthermore, the Library’s PCs have been upgraded to Windows 11.

Establishment of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao University Library Alliance (GHMULA) Open Science Special Interest Group (OS-SIG)

In a significant step towards fostering global connections and partnerships, the OS-SIG has been newly established under the GHMULA. This dynamic group, chaired by Mr. Benjamin Meunier, University Librarian of CUHK Library, is committed to advancing the principles and practices of Open Science Special Interest Group (OS-SIG) across member institutions throughout the Greater Bay Area (GBA).

The OS-SIG provides a collaborative platform, enabling libraries in Hong Kong, Macau, and China to promote the adoption of OS-SIG initiatives. Its core mission is to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing, advocate OA to scientific research and data, and support the development of robust OS-SIG policies and practices. The group aims to achieve its mission through:

Raising awareness about OS-SIG principles among GHMULA members;
Facilitating the sharing of best practices and resources;
Organising impactful workshops, seminars, and conferences on OS-SIG topics; and
Developing guidelines and recommendations to enhance OS-SIG practices.

The establishment of OS-SIG marks a milestone in regional efforts to support global Scholarly Communications and research transparency. The group is poised to play a pivotal role in driving OS-SIG initiatives, strengthening regional academic collaboration, and aligning with international best practices.

Please stay tuned for announcements about the OS-SIG’s upcoming events and initiatives as it collaborates with CUHK Library to create a more open, inclusive, and innovative research environment in the GBA and beyond.