HKU Libraries 2nd Millionth Volume Celebration
Remarks by Gary Ko
Mrs Chan, Dr Keller, Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Cheng, Pro-Vice-Chancellor
Professor Tong, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:
I was once told that the library is the heart of an institution. I didn't believe that. Prior
to entering HKU, the library of my secondary school was situated in a remote area on
the top floor of our school. It was a place where nobody wanted to go except to look
up materials for projects occasionally.
However, as a first year student studying law, the Law Library has become our best
friend. We couldn't survive without the library. Everything we do has something to do
with the library. During our first term at HKU, all law students were required to take a
course called Legal Skills where we spent hours, weeks and months to familiarise
ourselves with the ordinances, legal documents and precedents. Do you know that the
bookshelves in the Law Library are installed with an automatic detective device
which protects any user from being squashed in the compact shelves if they so happen
to have fallen asleep while looking up materials? Not sure whether there are any
precedent cases on that.
Apart from being a place and tool of stored knowledge and information, the Law
Library is also a place for chatroom discussions and interactions. Students are
encouraged to use the rooms to work on group projects whether it is a presentation or
debate on a specific legal issue. The professors' lectures in the classroom are being
transferred to the library as we look up further research and documents to widen the
scope of our knowledge of certain topics. We also know the Library staff by their
names, and their friendly smiling faces always show their eagerness to help us
whenever we are in need.
They, too, are the ones who would wake us up to tell us it's time to go home. I don't
know why, but we could really fall asleep easily in the library, probably because of
the cool air-conditioner.
It is almost like a daily habit that I, as a student, go to the library at least once every
day. If I were to meet a fellow classmate for afternoon tea, where do we meet?
Outside the library. The library is no longer seen as a place where it is stiff and with
lots of no nos. Yes, food and drinks are still forbidden in the libraries most of the
time, but there is wine and cheese if you come to Main Library's monthly book talk
for the Reading Club members, alumni, students and the general public where one
section of a room is transformed into a gathering place for vivid discussions of over
180 people.
In the Main Library, faculty members and students mingle with one another regardless
of their age or areas of expertise. I love the design and the architecture of our Main
Library so much. There is a hollow cavity in the heart of the Main Library and each
floor is surrounding it like a ring, sitting on those seats at the edge of the hollow part,
you can spot the one sitting on the opposite edge a floor below. This is how boys
hide themselves and look at the girls they love. It is definitely a sweet place.
Apart from the traditional storage of knowledge, having books on the bookshelves,
you can easily find a computer wherever you are in the Library. With the computers
and the network, you can look up books from the online catalogue and get your book
at ease, or you can browse any online database for the materials you want. I always
think that books in hands can always live with books online in harmony, that’s why I
always read my text books while browsing on the net. The Library has always been
able to put both the tradition and technology together so well.
Tonight I feel so honoured to share with you my feelings towards HKU’s libraries.
Although I have studied here for one year only, I always believe that it is not the
length of time you spend in the library that matters, what matters is how you make the
best use of the library, how you respect the rights of others in the library, how you
care for library facilities and the library as a whole, and how you love and preserve
the reading environment of the library. These are the things that matter and why I
appreciate libraries.