1991 – First Library Online Catalog with Full Chinese Capability
HKUST Library was instrumental in bringing INNOPAC out of the USA and in providing expert knowledge to assist them in enhancing the system to support Chinese characters. We also served as the only beta site for debugging and product testing. Since then all academic libraries in Hong Kong and many others in Asia have adopted INNOPAC. |
1992 – Bringing Art to Campus
To enrich the cultural life on campus, the Library organized the first art exhibition featuring art works of prominent artists Huang Miaozi (黃苗子) and Yu Feng (郁風). In the past decade, over 20 art exhibitions were held in the Library Gallery. These exhibitions represented various media and art forms including Chinese calligraphy and painting, watercolor painting, sculpture, oil, collage, photography, print, rubbing, and seal carving. |
1993 – Introducing Cutting Edge Technology
Through the years, the Library has introduced many new technologies to the Hong Kong Library Community. In 1993, the Library worked closely with a US-based system vendor to develop an innovative “Image Management System”. This system scanned faculty’s handwritten notes, images, assigned reading materials, etc; and provided sophisticated searching capabilities. It was the first of its kind. |
1994 – Accessible Compact Shelving
The Library installed Compact Shelving on LG4 – a safe, elegant and user-accessible electronically operated mobile shelving system that was the first and the largest of its kind in Hong Kong. In 1998, similar compact shelving systems were installed to hold the growing collection of microfiche and microfilm and for the University Archives.
|
1995 – First Library Web Server in Hong Kong
When the web technology was first unveiled, the Library responded enthusiastically by developing its website immediately. This server allows users seamless access to library information and collections and provides a gateway to electronic resources worldwide.
May 1995: 18,180
May 2001: 1,217,336
|
1996 – Establishment of the University Archives and Special Collections
Functioning as the institutional memory, the University Archives was formally opened to the University community. The Special Collections, under development since 1991, include Landmarks in Science and Technology, Antique Maps of China and other valuable items which were now available for researchers for the first time. |
1997 – OVID Mirror Site
The Library undertook the responsibility of providing efficient access and retrieval capabilities for a large number of premier full text databases to Hong Kong libraries, including most UGC libraries, along with the Hospital Authority, Vocational Training Council, and some private companies. As international network connections improved, the need for this service was reduced, and our access migrated from the mirror site to a direct connection to the United States in 2000. |
1998 – The Digital Library
Digital Archives, Electronic Theses and HKUST News Clippings were the first digital libraries developed in-house. They provide sophisticated searching and instantaneous full text display. Digital Archives allows users to search and retrieve University documents and publications online; Electronic Theses contains dissertations of our graduate students; and HKUST News Clippings include all University-related full text news online. |
1999 – Chinese Social Sciences Citation Index Database (CSSCI)
Partnered with Nanjing University in the production of the first electronic Chinese Social Sciences Citation Index Database (中文社會科學引文索引). China’s Ministry of Education in 1999 named this project as one of the most significant projects. It initially covered 496 Chinese language periodicals with over 280,000 citations in the humanities and social sciences published in the mainland, and will grow to include another 100-150 periodicals published in Hong Kong and other countries. |
2000 – Collaboration with and honors received from Mainland Universities
The Library has close exchanges with many libraries in the mainland. In recognizing her contributions, our University Librarian was conferred Guest Professorship (客座教授) by Peking University (北京大學) in 2000, Nanjing University (南京大學) in 1999, and Jilin University (吉林大學) in 2001. She was appointed Library Advisor in 1996 by Tsinghua University (清華大學). |
Library Under Construction |
THEN … and NOW |
