Library News

The Macau Academic Library Alliance (MALA) held its 19th joint meeting at the University Gallery of the University of Macau on 6 December 2022. A total of 17 representatives from 8 institutions attended the meeting. In the speech of Ms. Shi Li Mei, the chair of the alliance and director of the library of City University of Macau, she thanked the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau for its continuous support to the alliance, as well as the cooperation of the member libraries, so that the work of the alliance could be carried out smoothly during the epidemic.

The meeting was hosted by Mr Wilson Hoi Wai Tat, the secretariat of the alliance. He reported on the latest developments and various procurement work of the alliance, re-election of the rotating chair of the alliance and suggestions for the future development of the alliance. Ms Carmen Lei, the Head of the Macau Institute for Tourism Studies Library and the new chair of the alliance, said that through the alliance to promote the co-construction and sharing of resources between libraries, it would provide more abundant learning and research resources for the staff and students of local universities. She also hoped that with continuous guidance and support from the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau, the ability of university libraries to serve Macao's teaching development and scientific research innovation would be further enhanced.

Representatives of the meeting included; Dr. Wu Jianzhong (University Librarian), Dr. Raymond Wong (Associate University Librarian), Mr Billy Leung (Assistant University Librarian), Ms Priscilla Pun (Functional Head) of the University of Macau; Dr. Ines Lau (Library Director) and Mr Wu Iat Pio (Functional Head) of the Macao Polytechnic University; Ms Zhao Xichen (University Librarian) and Mr Yang Xunling (Associate University Librarian) of Macau University of Science and Technology; Ms. Vivian Chen (Administrative Officer) of City University of Macau; Ms Emily Chan (Library Director) of University of Saint Joseph; Ms Sarah Wong (Librarian) of the Kiang Wu Nursing College of Macau; and Ms Lau (Secretary) of the Macao Library and Information Management Association; Ms. Leong Lai Kun of the Division of Tertiary Educational Cooperation and Exchange of the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau.

Since the establishment of the MALA in 2014, with the support of the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau, the alliance had purchased different types of scientific research and patent analysis tools, electronic databases and other academic resources for teachers and students in Macao universities, and launched a series of resource sharing services such as the interlibrary loan service and "MALA Hub". The "MALA Hub" platform allowed users to find library resources of various universities in one-stop. Members looked forward to the further development and improvement of various services of the alliance in the coming year.