Library Resources Get Budgetary Boost

More that 400 libraries across Taiwan have shored up their collections and network resources thanks to a Central Government appropriation for acquiring much-needed publications and database systems. The NCL portion of the supplemental budget, provided through the Ministry of Education (MOE), amounted to NT$50 million. The funds were used to purchase 24,744 resources, including 18,329 documents, 4,836 rolls of microfiche, 1,525 AV materials, and 54 databases. The NCL plan called for the purchase of documents (including maps and periodicals) for Taiwan studies published since the late Ming period. Funds could also be used to acquire books domestically published during the legislative transition period when Taiwan’s book legal deposit system was not in force. Acquisitions also focused on Chinese-language electronic resources, with a priority on newspaper, periodical, reference material, law, commercial information, and art databases and ebooks.