As Irene Lo prepares to retire at the end of this month, I find myself reflecting on an extraordinary journey—one marked by quiet dedication, steadfast professionalism, and a profound love for our Library. I first worked with Irene in the 1990s, when I was a young Executive Officer in the Administration Office. We were both assigned to the Facilities team, supporting a brand-new Library—its walls freshly painted, furniture gleaming, and a shared sense of excitement in the air as we equipped a space to serve a rapidly growing university community. What began as a working relationship quickly grew into a long-standing partnership built on mutual trust, respect, and shared purpose. As the years went by, we often found ourselves tackling unexpected challenges together—figuring out how to clean the Library’s giant glass windows, replace high ceiling lights, install carpet beneath heavy bookshelves, prevent birds from flying indoors, and enforce social distancing protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic. Together, we learned, adapted, and problem-solved—always with a focus on keeping the Library safe, functional, and supportive of teaching and learning. Over the decades, Irene has been the backbone of our facilities operations. For this five-storey (expanded to six-storey in 2024) building, she handled an average of a thousand defect reports annually—many of them routine or repetitive—with tireless diligence and attention to detail. Whether coordinating complex repair workflows or liaising with contractors, she ensured that the Library remained clean, safe, functional, and welcoming. To colleagues from the Campus Management Office—carpenters, painters, electricians, plumbers, gardeners—as well as contractors and janitorial staff, Irene became an iconic Library figure.

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 taking the 4-year bachelor’s degree, I have already been to the library and experienced the beauty of the 5-storey building. If you are familiar with HKUST Library history, you may know that the library was actually open to the public before 2016 – there were no entry gates!  So before I was an official university student, I had already ‘sneaked' into the library on the UST Open Day. I remembered the amazement I had when I found out the shelves in LG3 and LG4 were actually movable. The enormous size of the building, and the view you have when you are walking along the staircases, were certainly stunning and to be honest, UST library was one of the reasons why I chose HKUST to have my tertiary education. As a worker… Starting this winter, my relationship with UST library has changed from a visitor to a staff member.

Meet the Team behind the Library's Systems and Digital Services! Franky, Joey, Adrian, Andrew, Leo, Sam, Terry, Martin, and Holly.   Among many other things, they manage over 55 computer servers with well over 70 individual applications – from simple things like LDAP identity lookup to complex beasts like our Room Booking System. Most of those servers have been running on CentOS7, which will reach its end-of-life by this coming Summer. Since these applications are mission critical, all these servers need to be upgraded to a new OS (operating system). That is a crazy big job to manage, when every application has to be tested and adjusted to work on the new server. All the people in that photo are heroes to me. Except the guy in the red jacket – that's me and I just offer support and encouragement. Everyone else there does the real work. To make things more complicated, several of the larger applications need to be upgraded just to work on the new OS - a double set of upgrades!

Meet Jan Jie (珍姐), the vibrant soul of the Ground floor of  HKUST Library! If you're a Library regular 摺拉把, you'll undoubtedly recognize her warm and friendly face. With an impressive 22 years of dedicated service as the janitor on the Ground Floor, Jan Jie has worked with various cleaning companies, engaging with hundreds of students over the years. Whether wielding a cleaning cloth or holding a bloom in her hand, Jan Jie is always at work, ensuring the Library remains impeccably clean. Beyond cleaning, she talks with students, providing encouragement and support for their studies.  She transcends the role of a mere cleaning lady.  Jan Jie is a sharp, compassionate, efficient, and observant individual – well-liked by both students and staff. Jan Jie has played a pivotal role in assisting numerous students in recovering lost items, mostly wallets, ID cards, and mobile phones, often left behind in library washrooms. Her observant and caring nature is highlighted by an incident where she identified a mainland student with a colostomy, new to Hong Kong, who needed medical support.  She reported this to the Library staff so that the student could receive the appropriate follow up. As students, ranging from Bachelors to PhDs, return each year during congregation, they eagerly capture heartwarming moments with Jan Jie in photographs. She serves as an undercover Library ambassador, an indispensable part of the Library's narrative. As Jan Jie approaches potential retirement, my colleagues and I all extend our best wishes to her for this new chapter in her life.