Monthly Archives: January 2010

Message from Eleanor Yuen
Head, Asian Library
University of British Columbia

This year, we are celebrating our 50^th birthday truly at another new era of knowledge creation and curation.

We know that it is imperative that we revisit our roles, re-configure our service model and repurpose our facilities. From the inception with the amassing of Chinese and Japanese classics in humanities to being the very place that users at UBC and beyond turn to for information on Asia, we have filled our shelves, physical and virtual with more than 580,000 items and delivered information on multiple platforms that is rich with databases, web sites, blogs, videos, images, audios and much more. We respond to users’ changing study habits and demands, face-to-face or online through social networks. Our commitments to the community run deep and we have been welcoming an exponential number of community members. We are privileged to call the beautiful Asian Centre home but we have yet to improve the functionalities of the space and the ambience of the library.

Our 2010 team of ten needs to champion the necessary transition from print to on-line collections and help patrons to adapt to the state-of-art information skills. Predictions about information trends and future technologies may always be fraught with uncertainty. While we are excited by the opportunities on the horizon, we also have to reposition ourselves for the burgeoning virtual world and the growing and diverse user communities that support and challenge us. It is no long satisfying to find strength in the supremacy of number. Rather, with the largest Asian collection in Canada in seven languages as the cornerstone of the library, we must stay forward-looking, courageous, agile and adaptable.

Together with our users, may we strive to bridge Asian culture with that of Canada and indeed North America and be a living library of Asian studies and research in the new era of information ecology.

Could we combine wisdom of the east
with the progress or “push” of the west in a Latin phase of 3 or 4 words
Sketch of UBC Crescent Frank Westbrook fonds, Box 1-17

Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis.
— All things are changing, and we are changing with them

Cheers to the three “r” s at the Asian Library!

In celebration of the Asian Library’s 50th birthday, UBC Library is pleased to announce the Peter Ward Open Essay Contest.

The contest’s theme is “How has the Asian Library helped you achieve your goals?” It aims to challenge students and community users to review their experiences and contemplate the Asian Library’s future. Essay topics on collections, services, facilities, space and your vision of the Asian Library will be accepted.

The winning essayist will receive $500!

At the Asian Library, we strive to bridge Asian, Canadian and North American cultures so we are truly a living library of Asian studies and research. We respond to users’ changing study habits and demands, face-to-face or online. Our commitments to the community also run deep.

We are privileged to call the beautiful Asian Centre home – but we would like to improve the Library’s space and ambience. By sharing your experiences and ideas, you will be part of a milestone in the Asian Library’s development.

ESSAY ENTRY DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 20, 2010

Essay submissions will be judged by a panel of UBC faculty and librarians. Entrants are encouraged to use images, videos, sound files and other formats to illustrate their ideas.

Application Rules:

1. The contest is open to all.
2. All entries must be received (mail or electronic) on or before deadline date. Mail to:

Peter Ward Essay Contest
The Asian Library
1871 West Mall, Vancouver, B.C. Canada V6T 1Z2

OR submit by e-mail to asian.library@ubc.ca

1. Submissions in any ONE of the following languages will be accepted: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, Punjabi, Indonesian, English.
2. All essays must be titled and signed, accompanied by an electronic file.
3. Essays must contain a minimum of 1,000 words and no more than 1,500 words.
4. Essays must be typed, double-spaced, on one-sided 8.5 x 11-inch paper.
5. Student entries should include the name of the school or university the entrant is attending.
6. All entries must include a cover sheet with the entrant’s legal name, mailing address, e-mail address if available and telephone number.
7. The Asian Library retains the right to quote, publish or upload the essays in part or in entirety for administrative and educational purposes.
8. All entries become the property of the Asian Library and will not be returned to the writers.

The winner will be notified by mail or e-mail and invited for the presentation of the award on March 5, 2010 at UBC.