HKU Bulletin February 2013 (Vol. 14 No. 2)

People A rare book collection is also a symbol of a university and its library’s maturity. First and foremost however, it is about scholarship and as a leading academic library we have a duty to share with the world our collections, especially these rare items, through our digitisation projects.” “Lastly, let us not forget wonderment. If you are handling a rare item, you are filled with a sense of wonderment. Whose hands held these volumes? Whose eyes gazed upon them?” Contemporary library development Mr Sidorko is in the vanguard of contemporary library development and the integration of information technology into library science. He read mathematics at Newcastle University and was about to embark on a teaching career when he realised that being a librarian would have more substance for him than teaching. “I thought I could bring my mathematical skills to cataloguing” he recalls, only half jokingly. “I was never, to use a cliché, much of a great book-lover. Simply loving books is not quite enough for librarianship these days.” Librarianship has become integrated with information technology. Two professional disciplines have had to come together. “There still can be cultural difficulties associated with this,” observes Mr Sidorko. “These are institutional cultures rather than the professional ones. They get embedded and can be a bit difficult to overcome.” He considers himself lucky to have had a fast start in this at Australia’s Newcastle University where he was Programme Manager of Client Services in the Information and Education Services Division. “I was really lucky because we were a groundbreaking department incorporating library, IT and other information areas. Parts of the library and IT were under my jurisdiction. The IT began as a mystery to me and turned into a steep learning curve. It gave me a great respect for the power of technology and its relationship to information – which is a large part of what a modern library is all about.” Active learning Mr Sidorko’s vision of an academic library as a place of learning is evident on the Library’s Level 3. It is an environment conducive to ‘active learning’, a welcoming place which offers a variety of learning spaces and suggests a merger of lounge, open-plan office and coffee shop. “People learn differently at different times and need different spaces”, he says. “We realised we had to develop zones, each with a different ambience.” Some of these are for group study. “In our biennial survey of users, one of our biggest problems was students wanting group study areas where they can work together because our curriculum now is demanding that they work in partnerships.” To Peter Sidorko, one traditional library feature, the function of answering reference enquiries, is fading as students click on the internet and find their own answers. Yet he sees it as vital that they understand that the Library stocks high powered digital resources and books, unknown to Google, and has expert staff who can help with a variety of information related needs. Library use training “Library use training is not high on the list of students’ priorities, yet it is something we do really well. Teaching them to access, to use, and to use ethically, information is something they need to know,” Mr Sidorko emphasises. “I mean here undergraduates, because getting them at the beginning is important, and postgraduates for refreshers and for advanced skills; for example, managing citations for their theses.” Peter Sidorko believes that since the early days of the Fung Ping Shan benefaction, the Library has changed not just physically but spiritually. “We want to be a primary supporter of teaching and learning and research, recognising the variety of needs that our students and faculty require in an information rich world.” Faculty and students need the broadest information. There is a dedicated librarian for each Faculty to help with specific discipline- based information resources and services. Mr Sidorko emphasises that the Library is not there to serve them just traditional print or standard electronic material. “We have much less traditional information and many staff with diverse skill sets. Seek us out. We want to be partners.” M Peter Sidorko is a thoroughly modern librarian who demonstrates a keen interest in antiquity. His enthusiasm for the ‘Celebrating the Centenary: Gems of The University of Hong Kong Libraries‘ exhibition, which ran from November 29, 2012 to February 17, 2013 in the University Museum and Art Gallery, is contagious. Within the exhibition were rare Chinese materials ranging from a mid-13 th century Song dynasty imprint to 19 th century examination essays. From Hong Kong there were early government publications, textbooks and newspapers and on display were the Library’s oldest western book Dell’historia della China (1588) and Sir George Staunton’s five-volume, second edition account of Lord Macartney’s 1793 diplomatic mission, sent by George III, to the Emperor of China. This includes a splendid and very rare colour image of the Emperor Qianlong. The University Librarian poses a rhetorical question. With ubiquitous access to digital information and a rapidly growing preference for that medium, is there a place for items such as these in an academic library in 2012? “I give you five reasons why the answer is a resounding ‘yes’”, says Mr Sidorko. “Value is an immediate and shallow response but their capital value cannot be denied and a library would not sell its crown jewels. They give us identity because, as academic libraries make bulk purchases of digital resources, the uniqueness of our collection defines us. Texts, Tech and Changing Times From treasured collections to IT innovations, the University Librarian discusses knowledge and libraries as evolving concepts. I J I K L M N J L O P I P P Q K J L Q R S J T U V S W W X R Y Q U L M N Z O J [ Q R \ Y N S L ] Y O L S O J L Q L M N T U ^ N Y Q Y Q R _ M O J S V X ` O Y \ N Q Y [ N ` L S K J L Q J a b c d c e b f g b h b c i f j k l m N n O L O Q J j P Q Y Y N P L N n S J n H[WUD LOOXVWUDWHG LQ ¿YH YROXPHV /HYHO VLWXDWHG RQ WKH o m ÀRRU RI WKH 0DLQ /LEUDU\ FRPSULVHV ¿YH ]RQHV ± 7HFKQRORJ\ %UHDNRXW 0XOWL SXUSRVH &ROODERUDWLRQ DQG 6WXG\ ± SURYLGLQJ VWXGHQWV D YDULHW\ RI OHDUQLQJ VSDFHV T W W S X W Q J ` N p R q n O W P O ^ p O J N V X r M S Q ` M S J p O S Q j ` Q J [ G\QDVW\ The power of technology and its relationship to information is a large part of what a modern library is all about. 3HWHU 6LGRUNR I J I K L M N J L O P I P P Q K J L T W W S X W Q J ` N p R q n O W P O ^ p O J N 33 Feburary 2013 The University of Hong Kong Bulletin