Stories from the Library – what's new and what's happening
Did you know this is one of the most glamorous items in our Special Collections? Known as 坤輿萬國全圖, in elegant classical Chinese, literally meaning Map of the Ten Thousand Countries of the Earth, it also has a nickname in English – Ricci Map. Why Ricci in English? Why does this map, titled in Chinese, carry…
Part 1 discussed how students can fight monsters of anxiety about grades & GPA by laughing and learning with the Wisdom Stone Game. But, some carry around other fears. Since childhood, we’ve become familiar with the idea or cliché of corpses and skeletons coming to life. Others may fear living creatures like spiders or snakes….
HongKongers live in a fast-paced world of abbreviations. I just realize my office life is full of CCs. First of all, when battling with email traffic, cc and bcc come in handy. For Gen Z readers, cc/bcc emails are modern derivatives of carbon copy and blind carbon copy which thrived in the age of typewriters….
Another good read (author I’m fond of) is Marge Piercy. Like Ursula LeGuin, she also writes both poetry and prose. I came to her poetry, after enjoying her novels. Most of her novels are set in the contemporary world when they were published, such as, Small Changes, but some in the historic past, like Gone…
One of our Library staff colleagues has some skill in repairing books. Others asked them to host a workshop so more staff could learn these skills. They used a variety of tools and techniques to show how to fix different problems with worn or damaged books. Despite the Library’s collections moving more and more towards…
Summer induces the vibrancy of awareness. While we are gazing at the fiery blue sky, in the next breath, our faces are already dotted with raindrops from the gloom of dark clouds. There is nothing more absurd than that – uncontrollable, ever-changing, bizarre randomness. Absurdity is what you try to understand, yet far beyond your…
Sunrise, the start of a new day, usually symbolizes a fresh start, rising hope or a new beginning. However, for HKUST students who spend the whole night studying or working on assignments in the Learning Commons, witnessing the sunrise signifies a sleepless night or the looming deadline they are racing against. As a former HKUST…
It is humbling to know that Library staff work here for so many years. On April 18, 2024, we gathered to honor our esteemed colleagues who have dedicated an impressive three decades of service to the University, or more – including seven staff from the Library. From left to right: Lin, Rose, Fiona, Irene Hui,…
Are you a nostalgic person? Will you long for the chance to visit a place you stayed in before again? To me, HKUST library is the place I would never feel bored visiting again and again. As a patron… I am a HKUST 2017 alumnus with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics. But before…
While visiting the map exhibition in the Library, you may not notice what is underneath the rare books on display. Guess what, it is more than just a stand! These rare books from our Special Collections have various ages; some older ones were published in the early 1600s, so they are almost 400 year old!…
