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The Future of National Libraries: One Perspective from the National

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The Future of National Libraries: One Perspective from the National access to many unique treasures for many years service, personnel and related activities, digitization now. In more recent years the Library has focused initiatives, bibliographic database creation and much attention on digitization of its special publishing. collections, thus further ensuring long term and Having just completed our centenary convenient access to these resources. In fact, celebrations in 2012, the University of Hong the Library has in many ways set new standards Kong Libraries is all too aware of the significance in digitization of rare materials focusing its that celebrating such events brings. It is a time to attention on materials that many libraries digitize celebrate, a time to pause and reflect on successes, such as rare books, theses, local government a time to consider our future and it is also a documents, periodicals and newspapers, but also time to start to chart that future to ensure our on lesser digitized items such as rubbings of stone ongoing success. Reflecting on the achievements inscriptions in Taiwan, news programmes and of the National Central Library during this 80th genealogies. anniversary, it is clear to me that their future is well The National Central Library has also set assured as they have built a solid foundation upon its mark in terms of leadership for libraries in which the success of future research libraries will Taiwan and the region. It has played host to many be measured. I once again congratulate the National international seminars, workshops and conferences Central Library on their 80th anniversary and I wish that have highlighted the Library’s broad areas the Library the greatest of successes into the future. of expertise and provided much needed training ■ T he future of National Libraries: One to others seeking such expertise. Perhaps most perspective from the National Library of significant among these is the annual International Singapore Professional Librarian Training: Sinological By Ngian Lek Choh Resources and Services seminar that brings together Director, National Library, Singapore East Asian librarians from all over the world. One of the keys to future success for research Congratulations to the National Central libraries will be their ability to collaborate with Library of Taiwan on your 80th Anniversary! other libraries. Dramatically shifting technologies, Thank you for inviting me to contribute to changing user behaviors and demands coupled with this very special occasion. I have been Director of limited and often reducing library budgets mean the National Library of Singapore (NLS) for seven that such collaborations will be more necessary years now, and I feel fortunate to have the chance to as time proceeds. The National Central Library, see the growth of the library and the rapid changes Taiwan, has been cognizant of this need for many in the way users use our collections and services. I years. Its long list of cooperative partnerships will use this opportunity to share my learning over with libraries around the world is testament to: 1. the years and my insights on the future of national the realization that libraries must work together libraries. for the common good of their users, but also; 2. For many years, the National Library of the Library’s willingness to share its expertise Singapore has not been well-understood by users and resources through cooperative projects for in Singapore, mainly because Public Libraries in the benefit of its partners. The University of Singapore are very well-developed, and also very Hong Kong Libraries is truly proud to be one of convenient and accessible. This means that most the Library’s cooperative partners having signed of the users in Singapore know what they can an exchange agreement on May 13, 2009. Our get from the public libraries, and comparatively, agreement covers areas of cooperation that include they are less familiar with the collections and the exchange of materials, exchange of experience in services of the National Library. National Central Library Newsletter Vol. 44 No. 1 February 2013 3 With the opening of the new National Library in its citizens. However, they are also painfully building in 2005, the National Library and its aware that unless users can have easy access services became more visible, and use of the to them at their fingertips, they are not going National Library has been growing and is still to use these materials, regardless of the value going strong. We attribute this to the special and and uniqueness of the content. Our users have unique collections that the National Library has constantly told us that they are happy with what that are not found in the Public Libraries, especially they can get on the web, even though more relevant digital content. At the physical library, the NLS and useful materials may be available in the library’ receives over 1.8 mil visitors a year. On the digital s carefully curated collections. side, the NLS has been working on digitising its Users will come and use our collections only if rare books, photos and newspapers and making they can find the library’s content very easily. This them accessible to the general public, outside make our job highly interesting and challenging. the library, 24x7. Use of its digitised Singapore How can national libraries make our content content is over 10 mil page views a year. much more accessible? The key function of a National Library is to The national library has a statutory role to collect and organise the country’s documentary require all published materials to be deposited heritage for current and future generations to use. at the library and to make these accessible to the This appears a simple matter. However, it is not. general public. One possibility is for the national It is not simple mainly because the library to secure copyright for remote access for as expectations of users have been rising and rising much of the materials that are digitised, and make fast. In the old days, users are content to make an them accessible to the public remotely, outside our effort to visit the library to use the materials as library walls. there is no other way to access these materials. This is possible for most of the materials that Today’s users want everything at their fingertips, are published by government agencies, schools and fast. They cannot wait. and community groups such as health groups, How then can the national library remain clan associations, religious groups, special interest relevant to them, as national libraries do not usually groups. The reason why these publishers will lend out materials, and users have to come to the allow libraries to put out the digital copy of their library to use a large proportion of the library’s materials for free is that they are mostly non-profit materials? From what we hear, visiting libraries to making agencies and they exist to serve the needs get the content is not our users’ preferred way of of a community or a special interest group. accessing these materials. In the past 5 years, the NLS had also been In my view, National Libraries have to keep very fortunate in that three pioneering publishers of pace with the needs and expectations of users. books in Chinese, i.e. Youth Bookstore, Shanghai Users want to be able to access the information and Books Company and Popular Books Private library materials fast, and they want the library and Limited had given NLB rights to digitise books its content to be as accessible as Google. If we are that they had published in the past and to put them not out there where they are, users will not use the out for readers all over the world to enjoy them. library’s materials and services as much as they The digitised items are now accessible through the could and should. NLS’ BookSG service. Librarians in national libraries are acutely What the NLS now needs to do is to secure aware that many of the materials in the national the rights for commercial publications for users to libraries are unique and valuable materials that access them from outside the library, and this could can help users understand the social history of the be offered at a fee. The journey to bring this about country, and help build identity and rootedness will not be easy, and it will entail a great deal of 4 National Central Library Newsletter Vol. 44 No. 1 February 2013 time and effort. However, for national libraries to be relevant and successful, users must feel that their needs are met and if the prefer to use library materials from wherever they are, this is one way libraries can work towards, to bring as much of its unique materials to its users via the web, either freely or for a fee. This is one perspective that I would like to share here. I have to say that I have been immensely impressed by the National Central Figure1: Chang-Lin Tien Library, Taipei, Taiwan for its progressive effort to create a rights approval service for commercial Here, and in other and other publishers at the point of receiving legal libraries across campus, deposit items. we have the record of Our heartiest congratulations again to the our faculty’s engagement th National Central Library on your 80 anniversary a c r o s s t h e P a c i f i c , celebrations! b e g i n n i n g w i t h t h e ■ “ If books are not good company, where scholar who built library will I find it?” How Libraries Show Us collections to start the Ourselves conversation, John Fryer (1839-1928, figure 2).
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