Newsletter No. 360

No. 360, 19.6.2010 施達理 Dr. Colin Storey 1 你選擇以圖書館工作為己任的經過是怎樣的？ When and how did your calling as a librarian begin? 我五十年代成長於英國，十歲時已很喜歡書本和閱讀。我在英 國利茲大學主修中國研究，1970年畢業後在家鄉利物浦的公共 圖書館當圖書館助理，首嚐圖書館專業的滋味，很是喜歡，於是 繼續在這範疇進修，獲得專業資格，接着先後在英國不同的大 學圖書館任職，1988起轉到香港工作。 I was already very fond of books and reading when I was 10, growing up in the UK in the 1950s. After graduating in 1970 from Leeds University with a degree in Chinese Studies, I became a library assistant in my hometown, at the Liverpool Public Library. That’s when I had the first taste of librarianship and I liked it. I went on to study the subject, obtained the relevant professional qualification and took up librarian posts in UK universities, then from 1988 in Hong Kong. 2 當時的圖書館是怎樣的？現在呢？ How was the library like then and now? 圖書館一向給人的感覺是四平八穩─層層疊疊堆滿書籍，櫃檯 後的管理員默默工作。某程度上確是這樣，然而圖書館也經歷 了翻天覆地的變化。今時今日的圖書館，服務的種類和履行的 職能都比以前更多更全面。一如現代其他專業，圖書館工作人員 需要更主動外向，精通更多技能。此外，隨着電腦應用的迅速 增長和普及，我們不單負責書籍的流通，更要管理繁複的電子資 料。在龐大的全球通訊和資訊科技網絡上，我們與世界各地主 要圖書館都有聯繫。在電子化及全球一體化的今天，只計算藏 書量並不足以代表圖書館的規模，它的實際內涵往往較有形的 館藏量豐富得多。 Libraries used to be perceived as steady and stable places where you see stacks and stacks of books and librarians—the quiet and retiring type—behind the counter. While there may be some truth in it, there have been massive and rapid changes as well. Libraries now offer many more services and serve many functions. Like other modern professions and services, people who work in libraries have to be outgoing, outreaching and master a much wider skill set. Then, there is the rapid rise and widespread use of computers. We are not only dealing in the circulation of books but also in the management of complex electronic data. We are now connected to all major libraries in a worldwide communications and information technology network. Libraries are no longer measured in terms of the number of books in their holdings. In the electronic environment and in the global context today, a library is very much bigger than its physical manifestation. 3 在工作生涯中有何感受？ How do you feel about your career? 我很慶幸能加入這行業，並有幸曾在一些了不起的機構工作， 包括這兒，而且可以因應需要推行具價值的計劃，改善圖書館的 服務及館藏，最終使用家受惠。圖書館管理員設身處地為用家 着想，是在工作上應用資訊科技的先驅，這使我倍感自豪。雖然 我們對資訊科技的認識起初也不甚了了，但會嘗試從一個未經 訓練的用家角度出發，設想他們可以怎樣利用資訊科技搜尋和 借閱書籍，並在網上蒐集相關資料。七十年代末期，當大部分人 尚未察覺資訊科技革命將帶來巨大影響時，我們已着手探索電 腦、軟件及網上目錄的應用。 I am truly grateful that I have joined this profession. I am fortunate in having worked in some wonderful establishments including this one, and been able to implement what is necessary and worthwhile in making our stock and ourselves useful to our users. I am proud that librarians were among the first to make use of information technology in their work, often specifically from the end-users’ point of view. Even though we were not initially very IT-literate, from an early stage we asked ourselves how an untrained user could use information technology to locate and loan books and search for relevant information online. We began to explore with computers, software and online catalogues in the late 1970s when most people were not even aware of the implications of the information revolution taking place. 4 中大的圖書館有何特色？ What is special about the CUHK libraries? 中大圖書館服務的是中大社群，有教職員、學生和校友，是個很 特別的群體。在這校園內，不同背景和專識的人互融互諒，以禮 相待，各以其方式為校園的社群生活出一分力。大學圖書館系 統服務這社群，也反映他們的特質。圖書館有很多特藏書庫，有 關香港研究、海外華人的書籍尤其豐富。每年我們會購入七至 八萬冊書籍，直至不久之前，我們的印刷本書刊藏量一直以每 十年一倍的速度增長，至於電子期刊及專書的藏量，過去五年 增長迅速。慶幸圖書館有能幹稱職的同事，亦深獲大學管理層 支持。 CUHK libraries serve the CUHK community which, with its staff, students and alumni, is a very special community. On this campus, people from different backgrounds and disciplines treat one another very well and in a friendly way, yet allow each to contribute to the communal campus life in his/her own way. The University Library System (ULS) mirrors and serves this community. Our library has many special collections and is strong on Hong Kong Studies and overseas Chinese, among other things. We acquire 70,000–80,000 volumes a year and, until recently, our print collection doubled itself every 10 years. Moving rapidly forward in the last five years, our electronic journal and monograph collection has grown exponentially. I am fortunate to have very good and able colleagues, and the support of University management. 5 大學圖書館系統有何最新發展？ What are the latest developments of the ULS? 我們繼續迅速添置各類館藏，尤其是電子資料，我們的服務不 斷多元化。圖書館不斷收到各類重要捐贈，都是非常特別的，不 過我們會嚴守捐贈政策，確保維持館藏的特色。此外，我們將檢 視圖書館的可用空間，以配合未來課程及研究的新發展，又會增 設更多學習空間，讓學生交流。現時圖書總館擴建而增加的面 積，主要是供人使用而非擺放書籍，鼓勵學生以不同形式學習 或個人靜修。 We continue to acquire materials, particularly electronic materials, at a tremendous speed. Our services continue to diversify. We have been getting many significant donations, really special donations, but we do abide strictly by a donation policy which will ensure that we will maintain a distinctive edge to our collection. We are also reviewing our physical space to accommodate new developments in the curriculum and in research as well as to provide a learning commons for the interactions of students. Most of the space gained from the present extension work at the main library will be devoted to people rather than stock, zoned to facilitate this new and informal mode of learning as well as quiet reflective study. 6 你對哪所圖書館印象最深？為什麼？ Which library impresses you the most and why? 雖有「賣花讚花香」之嫌，但我的確最欣賞中大的圖書館。另 外，七十年代我曾在尼日利亞參觀的一所理工院校圖書館，也 使我印象難忘。那是一所護士圖書館，只有一間簡陋的房間，一 些殘舊書籍和過期期刊。縱然條件惡劣，但負責的女士總是開 朗可親，樂於助人，為讀者和圖書館用者着想，在非常有限資源 下盡量滿足他們所需。我認為她彰顯了現代圖書館管理人員的 專業精神和服務操守的典範。 At the risk of conflict, I am really impressed by our own libraries. But I also have a distinct memory of a visit to a polytechnic library in Nigeria in the 1970s. It was a nursing library which was no more than a poorly provisioned room with some old books and outdated journals. Despite the abject conditions of the library, the lady in charge was always pleasant and helpful. She had the interest of the readers or library users in mind and did everything for them on very limited resources. To me she exemplifies the professionalism and service ethics of a modern librarian. 7 你對電子書籍及電子圖書館的發展有何看法？ How do you see the development of e-books and e-libraries? 這給我們和讀者、書籍的關係帶來劇變，亦影響到取用、借還及 閱讀書籍和文章等資料的方式。書籍的保藏及存檔將有不同的 意義，並會面對新挑戰。由於新引入各種電子學習媒介，連帶學 習的意義也會很不一樣。我們會不斷留意資訊科技的新發展， 以調整圖書館的運作模式及所提供的服務。但邁向虛擬不代表 自動步往成功─必須不時留意用家新興的需要。 It has significant implications for our relationships with users and with books, the ways books and articles are accessed, loaned and read. Our preservation and archiving works would have a different meaning and face new challenges. Even learning itself would have a different façade as e-learning initiatives take hold. We are constantly keeping watch over the development of new information technologies and assessing the relevance to and adaptability for the services and modus operandi of the library. But going virtual does not automatically bring about a success story—one has to be constantly aware of users’ evolving needs. 8 電子化資料對大學圖書館系統有何影響？ How are e-resources going to impact on the ULS? 現時圖書館的電子資料庫有逾百萬項資料，增長速度一日千里， 整體資源現已以電子為主。電子資源需要不同的管理方法。我 必須強調我們一直以最新科技改善圖書館服務，但不會用一些 未經試驗的技術。要管理一所電子及印刷資料並存的圖書館，是 挑戰，也是藝術。而中大圖書館的根基穩固，有助我們適切的回 應網絡新發展，並會繼續探討以人為本的外展服務，如電子學 習等。 We have over a million items in our electronic collection and it’s growing at an incredible speed. The overall balance of the collections is now tipping towards electronic. Electronic materials require a different sort of control and administration. But I must stress that while we’re constantly making use of the latest technology in doing our job and enhancing our library services, we will never use untried technology. It is both a challenge and an art to maintain and manage a virtual and a print-based library at the same time. But we already have a solid foundation which will enable us to respond to new developments in cyberspace. We will continue to explore the very human outreaching aspects of our services including the e-learning initiatives. 9 你最喜愛哪位作家？ Who are your favourite writers? 我喜歡的作家有M.R.詹姆斯，他寫的鬼故事（有些是在古老的 圖書館發生的）是我的兒時良伴。即使到今天，我仍將柯南  • 道 爾的《福爾摩斯》及梅文  • 派克的《歌門鬼城三部曲》放在床 邊。我也從魯迅的作品學到中文和中國文化。 My favourite writers include M.R. James, whose ghost stories (some taking place in old libraries) are my childhood companion. Even today, I still have Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast trilogy ( Titus groan, Gormenghast, Titus alone ) at my bedside. I learned a lot about Chinese language and culture from Lu Xun as well. 10 你喜歡Umberto Eco的《玫瑰的名字》嗎？ Do you enjoy reading Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose ? 我是先看電影才看書的，主角William of Baskerville就如中世紀 的福爾摩斯，在修道院中解開一個又一個的謎團。我尤其喜歡 看書本和電影中如何描述圖書館。或許有些人還會記得在賣座 電影《捉鬼敢死隊》的一幕，戲中鬼魂將排放得井井有條的分 類目錄卡片撒上半空，把圖書館搞得一團糟，真好笑。（巧合的 是，在八十年代，我在英國也演出過這一幕；當時圖書館的分類 目錄卡在一日之內全盤電子化。） I saw the film before reading the book and liked it immediately. Its protagonist, William of Baskerville, was like a medieval Sherlock Holmes, solving one mystery after another in a bibliothèque. I always like to see how libraries are portrayed in books and films. Some may still remember a scene in the blockbuster Ghostbusters in which the apparitions messed up a library and threw all the once carefully filed catalogue cards into the air. It was hilarious (and incidentally, something I actually did myself in the UK in the 1980s when our card catalogues went online in a single day!). 本刊於暑期休版，下期（第三六一期）將於8月19日出版。 The CUHK Newsletter will take a break after this issue and resume publication on 19 August.