Bulletin Number Two 1983

If the government gives more support to libraries and allocates more resources to the development of libraries, the demand for professional librarians and supporting staff will be larger. Q. The role of a library as the depository of knowledge in a university is obvious. Are there other functions of the library which are not so commonly known to the general user? Could you also give us some hints as to how to make the maximum use of library facilities? A. The library's function as a depository of knowledge is certainly important, but without the careful selection and active acquisition of books, periodicals and materials done by professional librarians, this function may not be achieved. To build up a good collection, cooperation is also required from subject specialists in the selection process. Specialists or non-librarian colleagues may help in bringing useful or possible items or groups of materials to the attention of the librarians tor adding to the library collections. Yet. the tunction of depository or storage seems to be a rather passive one. The more important functions of a library lie in its being an educational, cultural and recreational institution. It is an information centre too. By means of scientific management, librarians are able to organize the contents of the libraries in such a way as to facilitate maximum exploitation by the users. The books and materials are classified, and catalogues and indexes are also prepared so as to guide the users to the materials. So libraries play an active role in the teaching and learning process. As librarians have been trained in the use of reference tools, m skills tor searching information, as well as in research methodology, they are well equipped to unlock the treasures of the library collections for users. The reference librarian can be of great assistance in this way. The library orientation and instruction programmes which include lectures, tutorials and tours given by librarians to the students, other users and special groups are also very useful and instructive, and are of a life-long benefit to individuals. Libraries also offer a wider range of services than is sometimes realized, including the facilities of the Audio-Visual Department, the Information Retrieval Service, the current awareness service, the SDI (Selective Dissemination of Information) service and CAI (Computer-assisted Instruction). Q. There has been growing concern over the changing role of libraries: eventually libraries may cease to be storehouses for the printed word and become instead service centres in the new information networks. Do you think that there is a possibility for books and journals to be replaced by various electronic storage and retrieval systems? How do libraries respond to the influence of new technologies on the system of scholarly communication? A. That is indeed a broad question. I have already suggested in the above that libraries have shifted to accommodate the modern technologies available to it. As for the disappearance of the print media, however, I think that it may occur to some extent in certain areas. It may be one solution to the growing cost of keeping up with scientific literature. In social sciences and the humanities, the printed book and the journal will probably remain for a long time the principal means of presenting materials and preserving the cultural heritage. People have talked about a paperless society quite some time ago and micro- publishing has been in existence for a long time. How long the printed book and journal remain as the principal media will very much depend on how well the new non-print formats are accepted by the people. Many users are resistant to the new media. They are not comfortable with them and are psychologically reluctant to accept them. While keeping to their traditional roles, libraries will adapt, and in fact are now adapting, to the changing needs of the information society. It is a formidable task which lies ahead of us. In fact, many libraries have started to automate some processes. Computers and other electronic devices are employed to do this. In recent years, libraries have introduced information retrieval service to obtain information from electronic data bases. In Hong Kong, all the three large academic libraries as well as two or three others retrieve instantaneous information via satellite from electronic data bases of overseas countries. Libraries automate their catalogues so that on-line enquiries may be done, and they join together to form cooperative networks. Members of a network may have access to one another's cataloguing and holding information on-line. A library user at one library may enquire easily about what is in any other library in the network, or even in a world-wide network of libraries or information centres; he may obtain his answer in a matter of seconds! Therefore, the old saying that when entering the door of a library, one has turned the key to the library resources in the world is just as meaningful today as it was earlier. 14 ACADEMIC/CULTURAL EVENTS