Newsletter No. 80

CUHK Newsletter No. 80 19th December 1995 3 From the University Librarian The University Library System is very pleased to announce that, after months of studies and preparation, it is going to migrate from the existing operational computer system to a newer, more powerful, more user-friendly system commercially know as INNOPAC, a turnkey system developed by INNOVATIVE INTERFACES Inc., or III. INNOPAC is a popular library automation system currently used by hundreds of academic, public, and research libraries throughout the world, including all major university libraries in USA, Australia, Japan, and Taiwan. In Hong Kong, seven academic libraries are users of, or have chosen to adopt INNOPAC. They are the HKUST, HKU, Baptist, Lingnan, HKIEd, APA and CUHK. At CUHK, we have acquired and installed this automation system, and have trained our staff to use various new modules to perform most daily library operations: the application system and application software, hardware and other required software, databases and files. Our schedule of implementation, or productions visible to all library users, will be by phases or modules: 20th December 1995 • Changing to new CIRCULATION module (New loan rules passed by the Senate will also become effective.) • Automation of Audio-Visual Department 3rd January 1996 • Changing to new OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue) 4th January 1996 • Automation of Reserve Books Section April 1996 • SERIALS (Periodicals, Journals) module in production 1st July 1996 ‧ Changing to new ACQUISITION module Actually, many functional or operational changes not visible to public users but requiring many months of hardwork of library staff are already taking place. Units such as the AV Department, Reserve Books Section, Serials and others that have never before been automated will be converted to the online INNOPAC system. We are cleaning up the old library files and catalogues, doing retrospective conversion of databases, names and authority control, and loading various files and programmes in preparation for this new automation system. INNOPAC operates directly under the standard open U N I X operating system. UN I X has outstanding networking capabilities and is available on computers made by many manufacturers. This ensures unlimited expansion possibilities and represents a better long-term high technology investment. INNOPAC supports input and display of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and other languages in addition to Western character sets. It is designed to run 24 hours a day, with real time updating. INNOPAC's management reports are excellent. We can focus on each branch library or the entire library system, on particular subjects or activities, thus enabling us to do usage analysis, improve services, and manage our collection development to fit CUHK's academic programmes and meet the specific needs of each faculty and department. Since so many libraries have adapted INNOPAC to meet their unique requirements, we want to give our INNOPAC a local name to showcase this specially designed system for CUHK. We have temporarily named it CUBICS (an acronym for Chinese University Bibliographic Information Control System, a system with many integral faces and modules joined together to create a system CUBICS). Actually we want to sponsor an open contest to find the best name for our library system. We invite you to send in your suggestions and good ideas to the LIBRARY OFFICE right now. The winner of this naming contest will be rewarded. For your information, the library system at HKU is DRAGON, at HKPU is Bauhinia, at APA is BRAVO (Bibliographic Resources Automated Volumes Online) and at National Taiwan University is TULIPS (Taiwan University Library Information Processing System). Would you like to check it out, and give it a new name? Michael Lee U L S N e w R e g u l a t i o n s The Senate endorsed in Ap r il new library regulations governing borrowing limits and loan period. With the launch of the new circulation module under the new library automation system, the new regulations w i ll come into force on 20th December 1995. Under the new rules, borrowing limits for both students and teachers have been extended while the maximum loan period for teachers has been shortened from six months to 60 days. Colleagues should refer to the revised Regulations of the University Library System for details. Library Seminar How TO SEARCH THE NEW LIBRARY ONLINECATALOGUE Dat e Every day from 8th to 12th January 1996 Time ———————————— 12.30-1.15 p.m. 1.30-2.15 p.m. Venue ————————————————— Room 2, Audio-visual Department, LG/F University Library Organizer Reference Department, ULS Please register at the Reference Counter, 1/F University Library (Ext. 7305). APIB also plays an important role in the field of consultancy. It has conducted marketing surveys for the US Meat Board, the Du t ch Consulate, Wo r ld International, Oglivy & Mather, and a staff attitude survey for the KCR. It has also helped write, edit, and sometimes publish, manuals like the Manual of the Hong Kong Securities Industry and the Manual of Financial Markets in China. Research Needs to be Stepped Up Prof. Young laments that the multitude o f business opportunities generated by Hong Kong's 'hothouse economy' tends to crowd out the quiet reflection needed for basic research. Also, the prerequisite for basic research — good data — is sorely lacking in China. Despite these two impediments, the institute has not been totally inactive in this important field. A grant from the University's Strategic Research Programme in 1993 provided the seed money to develop the China and Hong Kong Market Database. This has already been used for research by faculty members and Ph.D. students and is being extended to futures markets. Three successful applications by individual faculty members for UGC Earmarked Grants have also resulted in more funds becoming available for a further expansion o f the database to include accounting information about Chinese firms. Reflections on the Eve of APIB's Sixth Birthday In listing the critical success factors of the institute, Prof. Young feels that the primary factor is the good reputation the Faculty of Business Administration enjoys in the community. This is attributable in a large measure to its graduates of years gone by, i.e., those who have attended its various programmes in the past years and are now senior managers in prominent companies. He also attributes a lot of the institute's success to his two dynamic predecessors, Dr. Japhet Law and Dr. Charles Steilen, who by their leadership gave APIB its current direction and momentum. The staff being extremely efficient and loyal adds to the reputation the organization has of being 'very professional'. What does 1997 mean for APIB? Fast comes Prof. Young's reply of 'More business!' 1997 does have serious implications, for a lot of companies wish to train its people in Mandarin. In tandem with the Department of Chinese Language and Literature, APIB is helping these companies develop Chinese business writing skills. Chinese companies from the PRC are also very interested in learning professional and technical skills from Hong Kong, and AP IB is setting up training programmes to help them in this area. While the business side of AP IB has tremendous momentum and does much to enhance the visibility and goodwill enjoyed by the BA Faculty, the research side needs to be built up, and it is this that Prof. Young would like to promote. Meanwhile, APIB continues to grow in size and in business opportunities. It is an important asset to the University and a valuable platform for interaction between academics and the business community. Shalini Bahadur