Events(Vol.36 No.3)

“Public Library Joint Database” Education, Training and Promotion Since 2004, readers in Taiwan have enjoyed free access to over 30 database systems through the government-backed “Public Library Joint Database” program. In order to increase utilization of this resource, the NCL commissioned the Interlibrary Cooperation Association to organize courses for teachers and librarians on using the system. Between February 2004 and April 2005, the association arranged 50 such courses across Taiwan. A total of 1,624 people attended the courses, including 43 elementary school teachers, 225 middle and high school teachers, 934 librarians, and 27 others. Covering 13 subject areas, the 38 databases included in the system to date were selected from over 100 Chinese and foreign language databases at the NCL according to their suitability for public library needs. (Chinese text by Chung Hsueh-chen)