Newsletter No. 458

2 458 • 19.5.2015 走 進大學圖書館正門，通過入閘機後再往前走，迎面見 到一組波浪狀的書架，前方放了幾張色彩繽紛的凳 子。書架上有約二百本書，有些書脊朝外垂直插放，有的封面 朝外，誘惑讀者翻開內頁，一看究竟。 這個地方是好書角。如果你厭倦了課堂的指定讀物，想拋開 繁忙的研究生活稍事休息，或者純粹想找本好書讀一讀，那 就來對了地方。圖書館館長 李露絲 女士說：「除了為學業而看 書，閱讀也可以純粹是為了樂趣和享受。上課學習時看的書 愈多，學業成績大概也愈好，但大學生活除了學業成績，還 關乎全人發展。閒暇時多閱讀，對於自己的人生方向，也會有 透徹的領悟。這就是我們設立好書角的目的。」 好書角是在2005年設立，目的是在校內推廣閱讀文化，鼓勵 師生閒暇時多看書。這裏的書本每六個月會換上新一批。 李露絲說：「好書角的書是由圖書館學習支援組的同事挑選。 我們會參考國際和本地書獎，並根據暢銷書排行榜為選取標 準。這裏有中英文的小說和非小說類書籍，嘗試包羅各種領 域，所以你會找到熱門的科普著作，還有經典文學作品。」 學習支援組的圖書館副主任 陳展邦 先生補充：「我們還會留 意社會上的熱門話題。例如 曼德拉 去世時，我們就把他的傳 記放到好書角。」 馬拉拉 ‧ 優薩福扎伊 獲得諾貝爾和平獎時， 她所寫的《我是馬拉拉》也出現在這裏的書架上。 圖書館每六個月會統計好書角借出數字，以便掌握讀者的口 味和需要。你知道在最近期的統計數字中，哪本書最多人借 閱嗎？答案是《飢餓遊戲》三部曲。 除了紙本書，圖書館還有預載了好書角電子書的Kindle閱讀 器，供喜歡享受科技便利的人借出。李露絲說：「我們最初試 驗Kindle借用服務，是預載通識教育科的書籍，結果大獲成 功。所以決定擴大計劃，把好書角的書籍也納入。」 不過，電子書和紙本書的館藏不完全一致。陳先生解釋：「我 們接到同事推薦的好書清單後，會同時嘗試獲取印刷版和電 子版，但不是所有書都可以在亞馬遜（Amazon）買到Kindle 用的電子版。」 現在圖書館有二十部Kindle可供借出，除了大學圖書館，崇基 學院牟路思怡圖書館也有Kindle借用服務。 好書角的書籍不斷在變化充實。圖書館很想知道讀者愛看哪 些書，以免有滄海遺珠，所以歡迎讀者填寫放在書架上的表 格，或在網上填寫電子表格推薦好書。李露絲館長說：「我們 要時刻留意流行文化中有哪些受學生歡迎的事物。」 她覺得好書角是成功的，但認為要推廣閱讀，還有很多工作 可做。「我們有一個構思，就是邀請校內的學術領袖推薦和討 論曾經啟發他們的書。我想這會是很吸引人的活動。」 G o straight after walking through the turnstiles at the University Library entrance, and you’ll find an area with free-form bookshelves and some colourful stools. About 200 books are available on the shelves. Some are vertically stacked with their spines facing out, some are displayed in a face-out style, tempting you with a mere glance of their covers. This is the Good Reads Corner. If you need a break from course readings, an interlude in your hectic life of research, or if you are simply looking for a good book to read, this is the place. As Ms. Louise Jones , University Librarian, says, ‘Besides reading for academic purposes, you can read just for sheer pleasure and enjoyment as well. We know that the more you read for your course, the better your academic scores are likely to be. But actually university life is not just about your academic development, it’s about your whole person development. As a person, you’re going to develop greater insight into what you want to achieve in life with reading for pleasure. That’s what we’re trying to achieve with the Good Reads Corner.’ First set up in 2005, the Good Reads Corner is intended to promote a wider reading culture and encourage more leisure reading within the CUHK staff and student body. This rotating selection of popular reading materials is updated every six months. Ms. Jones explains, ‘The selection is made by colleagues of the Library’s Learning Support Team. We also use international and local book awards, bestseller lists as our criteria. There are fiction and nonfiction titles of the Chinese and English languages. We try to appeal across the board. So you’ll find the most popular science books there, as well as classical literature.’ Mr. Chan Chin-bong Dominic , Assistant Librarian of the Learning Support Team, adds, ‘We also pay attention to hot topics. For example, when Nelson Mandela died, we put his biographies on the Good Reads shelves.’ I am Malala was also put on the Good Reads shelves when Malala Yousafzai won the Nobel Peace Prize. The Library produces check-out statistics every six months to gauge the tastes and needs of its patrons. Guess what tops the list of the most borrowed Good Reads Books in its latest statistics? It’s The Hunger Games trilogy. In addition to print books, those who are more willing to embrace new technology can check out Kindles loaded with Good Reads titles in e-book format. ‘We started the Kindle development with the general education collection books and that proved very popular. So we decided to extend and include Good Reads titles,’ says Ms. Jones. But the e-book collection is not the same as the print collection. Mr. Chan explains, ‘When we receive the recommended titles from our colleagues for the Good Reads Corner, we’ll look for both print copies and Kindle e-books. But not all titles are available from Amazon.’ Now 20 sets of Kindle are available for borrowing. They are also available at the Elisabeth Luce Moore Library at Chung Chi College. The books at the Good Reads Corner are an evolving collection. The Library is interested in learning what its patrons are eager to read and wants to ensure that relevant titles are not inadvertently omitted from the collection. So it welcomes its patrons to suggest additional titles by using paper forms available at the Good Read Corners bookshelves or the e-form on its website. ‘We need to keep in touch with what is popular with our students in terms of popular culture,’ says Ms. Jones. Though she considers the Good Reads Corner a success, she believes that there is always more they can do to promote reading. ‘One idea we have is asking our academic leaders to recommend and talk about the books that have inspired them. I think that would be appealing.’ 李露絲女士與陳展邦先生 Ms. Louise Jones and Mr. Dominic Chan 時還讀我書 The Pleasure of Leisure Reading Photo by ISO staff