Introduction

 

National Chi Nan University Library

History

The National Chi Nan University Library was established in July 1995. In the early stages of constructing the university, the library was temporarily housed at the National Chi Nan University’s Affiliated Senior High School (formerly Puli High School). In 1996, the library was moved to the General Building of Chi Nan University. In March 1999, it was relocated again to the back part of the school’s Science Building Four. It served the entire school from the building’s first through the fourth floor, but was closed in September of 1999 due to the 921 Earthquake. The university campus resumed its function in May of 2000, and the library was temporarily relocated to the basement of one of the student cafeteria buildings and the first and second floors of Science Building Four. A plan for constructing a Library and Information building was then launched, and construction began on September 20, 2002, which took four years to complete. After it went through inspection and furnishing, the library was officially opened on September 1st, 2006, providing a brand new and comfortable reading space to the entire school faculty and students.

 

Organization 

The library is under the supervision of a dedicated curator who oversees all aspects of its operations. The curator is responsible for managing two key sections: the Acquisitions and Cataloguing Section, which handles the procurement and organization of library resources, and the Reading Services Section, which provides circulation and other patron services. Additionally, a Library Advisory Committee has been established to evaluate the library's performance and develop long-term plans for its continued growth and development.

 

 

Elevating Service Quality

A) Revitalizing the space

  1. The library has uniquely established the National Chi Nan University Library Art Gallery. This gallery is aimed at cultivating students' humanistic qualities and elevating their aesthetic sense of art appreciation. The Art Gallery effectively manages, utilizes, and maintains the library's capacity, providing institutions, schools, groups, or individuals with an environment to host cultural and artistic activities.
  1. Establishment of a Gallery of NCNU History: The Library has established a Gallery of NCNU History, which features a cultural relics display area, a written text introduction area, and an audio-visual introduction area. The Gallery of NCNU History showcases the unique characteristics and achievements of the university, taking on an inherent responsibility and educational function by collecting and preserving its cultural relics. By visiting the Gallery of NCNU History, patrons can gain a deeper appreciation of the different eras of National Chi Nan University, reflecting on its rich heritage and inspiring future growth.
  1. The NCNU Language Center is situated on the second floor of the library, where a dedicated team of instructors offers comprehensive English language instruction and facilitates various language learning activities. With the library's contribution of space and resources, the Language Center serves as a hub for students to enhance their language abilities and provides a real-life environment for teachers and students to engage in foreign language learning.
  1. A separate display area: On the third floor of the library, a dedicated space has been set up to showcase various versions of Imperial Collection of Four Area(Siku Quanshu). Additionally, a microfilm collections room has been established on the fourth floor.
  1. A self-study room is open 24 hours a day to provide readers with a quiet and cozy reading environment.

B) Supporting Teaching Research

  1. Through the promotion of inter-library cooperation, the library can widely obtain literature from other schools to meet the needs of different readers. It maintains participation in the RAPIDILL Alliance, providing students and teachers with free access to various academic materials to facilitate academic research.
  1. The library is dedicated to working closely with the National Central Library to ensure the efficient upload of electronic degree dissertation files. This commitment has earned accolades from the government for the library's success in maintaining a high upload rate. The library offers a variety of degree dissertation services to support student researchers, including reviewing doctoral degree dissertations and master's degree theses for students of National Chi Nan University. Additionally, the library catalogs, archives, and stores these dissertations with the National Central Library, while managing the dissertation upload and comparing systems. Each semester, graduate candidates receive instruction on how to upload their dissertations. These services are designed to reduce students' traveling time to different institutions and ease their financial burden. Beginning in the 111th Academic Year (September 2022), the library has integrated all procedures for submitting dissertations. Graduate candidates may submit their paperback dissertations, and the library will provide online versions of the dissertations to readers, streamlining the process for greater convenience and accessibility.
  1. The library regularly offers a diverse range of educational courses to students and faculty. In addition to on-site tours of the library facilities, librarians provide comprehensive lectures on how to utilize various electronic resources, including EndNote software, across all academic departments.
  1. The library provides multiple spaces and equipment to facilitate teaching. It has six discussion rooms and fifteen study carrels. There are ample amounts of laptop computers, digital video cameras, and projectors available for students.
  1. The library actively expands its various types of materials each year. Since 2022, the library has been subsidizing instructors’ search and download fees for unpurchased electronic resources. Details on this initiative can be found in the National Chi Nan University Teachers' Searching and Download Fees.

C) Other Unique Services

  1. Collaborating with departments to create unique merchandise.
  1. Offering five-star book delivery service: This service enables individuals who are unable to physically visit the library to request books and have them delivered to their location.
  1. Recruiting students for the English Free Talk Leader program: Recruited students converse in English with other participants, promoting language fluency and global awareness. This program offers a unique opportunity to integrate English into students' daily lives.
  1. The library has created a Virtual Library using Gather Town software, where individuals can participate in video conferences and access library collections remotely. The virtual library is user-friendly and easily accessible, allowing anyone to browse the NCNU virtual library from the comfort of their own home and enjoy unlimited reading materials.

Internal Building Efficiency

To promote energy-saving and carbon reduction in the school, the library has implemented various measures. Induction lights and motion auto-sensing lighting equipment have been installed in the book display areas to monitor air conditioning and lighting. Energy-saving fans were also placed on each floor, on the southern, northern, and eastern sides, to enhance air circulation and reduce energy consumption. These efforts have resulted in a total electricity saving of 484,492 kWh from 2016 to 2022.

In recognition of these achievements, the school received the first prize from the Ministry of Education’s School Energy-saving and Carbon Reduction Project in 2016, making it a model for other institutions. Moreover, the library places great emphasis on providing high-quality air for its readers and conducts regular air quality tests. It has been awarded a government rating label of "Excellent" for self-managing indoor air quality from 2020 to 2023.

Caring for society

Universities have a responsibility to fulfill social duties. In 2017, the library organized the "Send Love to Boyo, Donate Children's Storybooks" activity in collaboration with the Puli Reading Alliance, which included the libraries of the Affiliated Senior High School of National Chi Nan University, National Puli Industrial Vocational Senior High School, and Nantou Puli Public Library. This initiative invited township residents, teachers, and students to participate in donating storybooks to the Boyo Social Welfare Foundation, enriching the teaching materials and extracurricular readings for teachers and students. Additionally, the library runs a campaign called "You Donate Love, I Deliver Books" each year during Library Week in December. The campaign collects invoices and donates them to welfare institutions, such as the Eden Social Welfare Foundation and the Genesis Social Welfare Foundation. The library takes every opportunity to give back to the community.

Internationalizing the library collection

A) Southeast Asian Studies Collection

National Chi Nan University established the first Department of Southeast Asian Studies in Taiwan, and the library has been actively collaborating with the department to build up its Southeast Asian academic literature collections. The library closely cooperates with the department's research projects and assists teachers in collecting relevant research materials. Additionally, the library has completed a web page showcasing its featured Southeast Asian Studies Collection.

B) Pleasure Reading Corner

To provide students with a comfortable and conducive environment for reading, the library has partnered with the Language Center to establish the Pleasure Reading Corner. The collection boasts a diverse selection of books in multiple languages, including novels, reading series, picture books, and comics, catering to readers of different levels. All books were carefully selected by the Language Center's teachers, ensuring high-quality content. The library hopes to offer students a relaxed reading atmosphere and further improve their language abilities.

C) Book Donations from Diverse Sources

The teaching faculty at our school is dedicated to fostering international academic exchanges, and their efforts have resulted in the acquisition of a rich collection of books and journals that are now featured in our library. Generous donors, including Professor Jiang Lin Yingji, Professor Mineo Nakajima, the American Institute in Taiwan, and Hong Kong Baptist University, have also contributed materials to our library. In addition, we have received prestigious works such as The Siku Quanshu from the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, The Complete Works of Venerable Master Hsing Yu from Fo Guang Shan, and art-oriented books from the Books and Documents Department of the National Palace Museum. Our library's collection has been further enriched with theme-based books donated by many of our teachers. These donations have greatly enhanced the quality of our collection.