Newsletter No. 75

CUHK Newsletter No. 75 4th October 1995 3 New Fea t he rs in the U L S Cap Library Services at the University Further Enhanced Above: Guests at the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong Newspaper Database Below (left): University Librarian, Dr. Michael Lee Below (right): Library staff explaining to Prof. Charles Kao and Prof. Liu Pak-wai how to gain access to the newspaper database. To be proactive, to be a pathfinder To rather than a reluctant follower in the delivery of educational resources,' Dr. Michael Lee, the University Librarian, so describes the approach of the University Library System in serving the campus community and the public at large. In its continuous effort to maintain a state-of-the-art library system, two new dimensions have just been added to the ULS: the Hong Kong Newspaper Database and an Electronic Resources Centre. The Hong Kong Newspaper Database came into effect on 1st June 1995, and was formally opened on 15th September. Vice- Chancellor Prof. Charles Kao officiated at the opening ceremony which was attended by more than 70 faculty and staff from CUHK and other tertiary institutions in Hong Kong. The database is a project to collect, organize, index and store full-text and graphics of select Hong Kong based Chinese and English newspapers. It provides timely access to news about China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau through Internet. At present major economic, political, and social news is selected from the Hong Kong Standard (English), United Daily News (Chinese), Wen Wei Pao (Chinese), Sing Tao Yat Pao (Chinese), and Tai Kung Pao (Chinese); more newspapers will be included subsequently. The news is usually available by 1.00 p.m. on the very day (Hong Kong time) of publication. Both articles as well as photographs are stored and can be retrieved as images. Users can search desired information by newspaper, section, date and controlled keywords. The keywords can be topical, geographical, corporate, and personal; many exist in both Chinese and English forms to facilitate users of the two languages. The end product will be an electronic database available to researchers through local area network, Internet and dial-up users. News items of the day before and upto the previous six months will be available for online searching via key word or subject. Materials accumulated six months earlier, along with the same indexing and searching software, will be archived to optical media, i.e. to CD ROM (Read Only Memory) disks. In a time of change in Hong Kong, it is significant that the database will serve as an electronic archive for future research and studies. According to Dr. Lee, it is CUHK that is spearheading the first multi-newspaper database in Asia. Prior to this, some Asian newspapers posted their own news items on Internet, and some universities in Taiwan had a database for news items from one newspaper only. The University has hired librarians, information specialists and support staff to work on this project which has received financial support from both the University and the Hong Kong Government for two years. ULS representatives have also met and worked with newspaper indexing and retrieval system developers in Beijing and Hong Kong to study cooperative systems. Dr. Michael Lee also informed the CUHK Newsletter that a new Electronic Resources Centre (ERC) would be established in the Wu Chung Library at United College in October. As Dr. Lee explained, in keeping with the Information Revolution that started about 10-15 years ago, library information centres are changing, with many leading institutions in the world opting for non-book material libraries. At the CUHK, though so far users at the main and branch libraries have had access to different information networks, inadequate space and other resources have prevented the pooling of all electronic facilities under one roof. As chance would have it, the inconvenience caused to readers by the different locations of the Chinese History Collection and theWestern Language History Collection (the former at the Wu Chung Library, and the latter at the main library), and a subsequent decision to move the former to the main library, resulted in the availability of space at theWu Chung Library for a new project. The Committee on University Library System and United College then decided to provide better service to the students of the electronic age through the establishment of an integrated electronic resources centre. The ERC will facilitate learning at an individual pace and convenience, and serve as an ideal supplement to classroom instruction. In addition to information available through the networks, it will give users access to stand-alone CD-ROM's covering a myriad of subjects and disciplines 一 literature, music, religion, education, arts, sports, the natural sciences, the learning of languages (English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish), and a treasure of Microsoft software spanning the Encarta, Art Galleries, Cinemania, and collections on music and animals. While similar facilities offered by the Hong Kong Urban Council and the Regional Council focus more on recreational material, at the University priority is given to material which is educational, instructional and research-related. Initially the ERC will have 25 personal computers that can run multi-media material and two Macintosh computers. Subsequent additions will be subject to need. The ERC is administratively under the direction of the ULS, and will represent a unique synthesis of the latest in information technology and library design. It will be a prototype of what is sometimes referred to as the 'library of the future', or the 'cyberlibrary'. The ULS hopes to extend its capabilities and boundaries, so that it is a 'virtual library' that gives users access to resources in all formats and from institutions around the globe. Apart from launching the newspaper database and the ERC, preparations to produce another major improvement in library operations are also underway. ULS staff have been testing various modules of a new integrated computer system, the INNOPAC automated library system. The system will eventually be used by seven local tertiary institutions: CUHK, HKU, HKUST, Baptist, Lingnan, APA and HKIE. At CUHK, by the end of this year, users will see a new and more flexible circulation system, a new catalogue, and a more user-friendly reference system. All OPAC (online public access computer) dumb terminals will be replaced by powerful and multi-function personal computers. Library staff are hard at work preparing for the migration of various databases and enhanced features. All new modules are expected to be in full operation in 1996. Dr. Lee's claim that 'We are the active participants of the electronic information revolution' is well borne out by these new feathers in the cap of our University Library System. Shalini Bahadur VARSITYONLINEWITH GRAPHICS AMD PHOTOS While recent months have seen many new advances with regard to Internet services, including several new online publications, it has gone largely unnoticed that Varsity 一 a student publication of the Department of Journalism and Communication — has been online for more than a year. Campus residents are probably familiar with the printed version of the magazine which is a current affairs monthly targeted at tertiary students throughout the territory. Although the initial online version of Varsity provided merely a text service, the magazine began providing graphics and photos w i th the development of the department's home page this past summer. The magazine's Internet address is http:// www.cuhk. hk/journal. Access data indicated that the online version has been accessed by thousands of foreign sites, mostly in Europe and the United States. Indeed, during the summer, access from foreign sites was greater than access from sites in Hong Kong, according to Bryce McIntyre, Varsity's creator and publisher. Dr. McIntyre, lecturer in journalism and communication, said that the online version is created by an 'electronic edition editor' within Varsity's student editorial staff. The online version was created for three reasons 一 to raise the profile of the department, to give students an opportunity to learn the latest in publishing technologies, and to provide a community service 一 especially to overseas Chinese tertiary students who want to keep in touch with Hong Kong current affairs. 'Wehave an obligation to keep abreast of new developments,' said Dr. McIntyre. 'I suspect our students are the only ones in the region who are going out into the professional world with experience in electronic publishing.' In spite of the promise of the new publishing technologies, Dr. McIntyre predicts that online publications will never replace printed ones. 'Nothing can replace a folded newspaper tucked under your arm when you catch the KCR with the idea of doing a little reading on the way to Kowloon — o r falling asleep with a book at night,' he said. As with other new media technologies such as VCRs and cable services, online publishing w i l l most likely merely supplement, rather than replace, existing systems, Dr. McIntyre said.