CIO & University Librarian's Message

cio

I am delighted to start the new academic term by briefing thousands of our postgraduate students in the Chan Tak Tai Auditorium on August 30, and joining the President’ reception to welcome new staff on August 31. It is thrilling to see the happy faces of students and staff in many corners of the campus. Like you, I and my library colleagues are expecting new space and new services by completing the renovation project.

Like you, we are disappointed that the construction work is still going on. The renovation project encountered a lot of difficulties since its commencement last year. There were more demolition works than expected; some structures could not be removed as planned; the government approval was not smooth; the design of various parts kept on changing to accommodate with the site limitations and other construction constraints; the construction of the mezzanine floor and the book wall are highly complicated with lots of coordination required; the delivery of the materials was affected by the pandemic; etc. But we are not defeated by these challenges. Working closely with the Comptroller Office and the construction team, we have resolved most of the problems one after another while striving to keep the high quality and most of the planned features. We are expecting the completion of the Southern part of the Library by early October. Once furnished, we will open the new space as soon as we can. You are welcome to visit the renovation project web page for the progress update.

Our efforts in improving the learning environment of the Library do not stop at the completion of the renovation project. Users visiting the Library will see on 2/F and 3/F new study tables and carrels, new chairs in different styles, new signage with clearer directions to different places of the Library, new carpet and new bookshelves. I am glad that some students found the new chairs comfortable. We also keep on improving our services. The Library is now on Instagram as our new social media; Signal A Librarian has been available to provide more channels for enquiry and support; new facilities have been created, our research support services have been enhanced, and the search interface of 1-Search has been improved. Last but not least, we just launched the first digital humanities project of the University by partnering with the Department of Visual Studies and the Centre for Film and Creative Industries.

The Library will continue to hear your voices. Please do let us know in what way we can serve you better.