As the year closes, it is an opportune moment to reflect with humility on the year passed, and to look forward with hope to the year coming. I would like to attempt a brief review and preview about the Library's work. 2024 In 2024, the Library team worked very hard to update and upgrade services on all fronts. Here are a few examples. We opened the LG5 learning space in Spring; hosted the signature special collections exhibition of antique maps; organized a variety of talks by interesting speakers, including a Chinese Opera demonstration in collaboration with Xiqu Centre of westK; boosted streaming content in the collections such as Kanopy. On learning and research support, we created many new workshops that cover AI tools for academic use; and we enabled HKUST authors to publish their research papers Open Access via agreements with publishers. These are only some of the prominent outcomes of the Library team's collective efforts. Each of these posed unique challenges to us, and we overcame many with perseverance, agility, and creativity. 2025 What new things will you find in and from the Library in 2025? Many library services will naturally roll along the same tracks, but it doesn't mean they are not new!

Get ready to cuddle up with our fabulous selection of 100 animated films! Whether you’re a Disney fan or new to animation, we’ve got something for everyone. Relive your childhood with Disney classics like Aladdin, Cinderella and The Lion King. Or, enjoy modern hits like How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Frozen I & II for a magical night in. Don’t miss out on the excitement of Japanese animation with the Detective Conan Series, or the stunning films Your Name (君の名は) and A Silent Voice (映画 聲の形). And, of course, we have a treasure trove of beloved Studio Ghibli classics! Need a DVD drive? Swing by the G/F Service Counter to borrow one for 7 days! So, what are you waiting for? Check out some DVDs from the Library, and dive into the enchanting world of animated storytelling.

The Semester is Ending! In the midst of all the end-of-semester work, we sometimes need to relax with a good read or interesting video. Or, we like to imagine or even plan our relaxation and fun for after we've sat our last exam in December, or handed in the last section of grades (if we're a teacher or TA). Science & Science Fiction – Fuel for the Imagination For centuries, science and science fiction have been linked: inspiring happy dreams, terrifying nightmares, or thought experiments in between. Both explore and extrapolate from past and present into the future. Both fuel our imaginations. To make it easier for HKUST people to “fuel up” from now until the end of January 2025, library staff have made a Science & Science Fiction Collection Highlights. It has books and videos on interesting scientific topics and classic and recent science fiction, in both English and Chinese. The physical display of some of the print books and DVDs is near the Service Desk on the G/F. If the title you want isn’t on the table, ask staff for it at the Service Desk.

When you use study carrels in the Library, you might have experienced this situation: you leave the seat but use your belongings to keep it occupied; when you return, someone else take your seat, and you see a notice to claim your stuff at the G/F Service Counter. How did that happen? Yes, library staff takes regular actions to reduce "seat hogging". We conduct "in-depth patrol" to clear study carrels and make them available for library users. How does "in-depth patrol" work? When we see a carrel occupied by unattended belongings, we leave a paper slip noting the time. After 30 minutes, if the belongings are still there, we would put them on the side so that the seat is available for another user. Valuables will be sent to G/F Service Counter for keeping your belongings secured. In this Fall term, we did such patrol between 26 September and 1 November; and we cleared a total of 316 carrels, averaging 12.6 carrels per day. That is a 43% increase from last year!

You might have heard the Italian name Ricci – perhaps Ricci Hall, one of the oldest residential halls at HKU. But do you know who Matteo Ricci was? The man who made this Italian name famous in China. Who was Matteo Ricci? Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) was one of the first Jesuit missionaries who tried to spread Christianity in China. He was born in Macerata, a small town in central Italy with a population of just under thirteen thousand. At the age of 20, Ricci was admitted to the Roman College, a Jesuit university renowned for its expertise in natural philosophy. Hmm, what exactly was natural philosophy? Mathematics, astronomy, music, geography, and more technical disciplines like mechanics and architecture. For example, how to craft a globe?