Expansion of the Au Shue Hung Memorial Library

and

Establishment of the Artgallery: Some Facts and Highlights

The Au Shue Hung Memorial Library of Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) was built and occupied in 1995 with a collection capacity of 600,000 volumes. With the steady growth of the collection and space demands of changing services, the severity of space constraints became increasingly felt. Although the University has provided extra library space by allocating 248.8 sq. meters to the Library for the establishment of a Multimedia Learning Centre in 1998 and 475.59 sq. meters for the establishment of a Chinese Medicine Library in 2001, it was clear that additional space was direly needed for the Library.

In 2002, the University decided to submit a Major Renovation Project proposal to the University Grants Committee (UGC) that included an expansion component and a partial renovation component. The project was approved by the UGC in early 2003 for $13.19 million.

L & O Architects (Leigh and Orange Ltd.) was selected by the University through a tender process to undertake the Project and planning began in March 2003. The construction period took 13 months from August 2003 to September 2004.

With the additional space allocated to the Library by the University, the total area of the Au Shue Hung Memorial Library is now 7,806.59 sq. meters, a gain of 19% from 6,550 sq. meters at the time of occupancy in 1995. The table below gives a comparison of some key library collection and facility-related statistics between 1995 and 2004.

1995 / 2004
Collection-related statistics (counts at 30 June)
Bound volumes / 457,836 vols. / 847,307 vols.
Multimedia items / 13,365 items / 54,027 items
Current (print) periodical titles / 3,918 / 4,172
Electronic databases / 4 / 142
Full-text electronic journals / 0 / 16,292
Facility-related statistics
Number of reader seats / 900 / 984
Number of PCs for users / 28 / 166

In addition to having more space to accommodate annual collection growth, the Project has provided significant improvement in the quality of user space with these facilities:

·  Two group viewing rooms

·  A music listening and video viewing area

·  Three group study rooms

·  A study area that can be made into a late reading area after the closing of the main part of the Library

·  An area for browsing and reading new books and popular books

·  A newspaper and current periodical reading area allowing the display of all subscribed print titles

The Artgallery

A design feature of the Au Shue Hung Memorial Library is a high wall of 18.74 meters facing the main stairwell connecting five levels of the Library. The idea of a visual display area to optimize the use of this challenging space was made possible with the funding support of the Wing Lung Bank Foundation for the Library’s proposal for a Visual Arts Project.

For the premier exhibition at this display area, which has been named the Artgallery, the Library has created a visual composition of the sayings and writings of some of the 36 illustrious Chinese writers in the Library’s portrait gallery as drawn by Mr. Kong Kai Ming, a well-known Hong Kong painter.

Other planned activities under the Visual Art Project include an Online Artgallery, Online Quiz for HKBU students, two public seminars on Chinese Literature and Films in collaboration with HKBU’s Cultural Literacy Project, and guided tours that are also open to the public. More details are available from http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/lib/ceremony/.

The Library as a place

In the past decade, all academic libraries have undergone significant changes in its delivery of information resources and services as a result of rapid advancements in information and network technologies. While continuously striving to enhance the electronic library component by providing “anytime and anywhere” user access to an increasing array of information resources and services, the academic library remains a physical place where faculty, students, and staff make use for their teaching, learning, and research information needs. Support and assistance received for the expansion and renovation of the Au Shue Hung Memorial Library reaffirm the recognition and appreciation of the library as a physical place.

5 October 2004