University of Hong Kong hosts global symposium on eBooks

DUBLIN, Ohio, USA,  25 September 2006—The University of Hong Kong Libraries hosted a symposium on "eBook Challenges and Developments 2006: A Global Perspective," September 21 and 22, in recognition of the 1 millionth eBook cataloged by the library.

The symposium provided librarians and other information professionals the opportunity to share their experiences with eBooks and other digital content.

"The University of Hong Kong is among the world's leaders in adopting eBooks and adapting to electronic formats that allow library users increased access to the world's information," said Rich Rosy, Vice President, OCLC Content Management.  "The addition of the 1 millionth eBook demonstrates the University's commitment to electronic formats, and serves as an example of how best to extend the library's investment in monographs and meet the needs of today's library users."

Mr. Rosy and Andrew H. Wang, Executive Director, OCLC Asia Pacific Services and New Initiatives, were among the participants from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, China and other locations in East and Southeast Asia.

The book chosen to be digitized as the University of Hong Kong Libraries' 1 millionth eBook is the five-volume set, An Authentic Account of an Embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor of China, by George Staunton, published in 1798.  It is a genuine and copious account of Lord George Macartney's mission to the court of the Qing emperor Qianlong from the court of King George III between 1792 and 1794, and is the only copy known to exist in the world.  To view the book, visit: http://lib.hku.hk/1m_ebook.

"We chose this work because it illustrates the enormous value of the eBook form," said Anthony Ferguson, Librarian, University of Hong Kong Libraries.  "This is an important, one-of-a-kind work, but by digitizing it, we can make it available to people all over the world through the Web.  It is a five-volume set, but it takes up no shelf space—it is read on a computer screen.  And it is searchable so that readers can find direct passages of interest with a few clicks and keystrokes."

NetLibrary, a division of OCLC Online Computer Library Center and the world's leading platform for eContent for libraries, provides access to over 50,000 eBook titles to Hong Kong University Libraries.

"Today, people—and especially young students—expect to find what they need on the Web," said Mr. Wang.  "By making these eBooks available, the University of Hong Kong Libraries are providing information to students where and when they need it󈟨 hours a day, seven days a week from the Web." 

About OCLC
Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, OCLC Online Computer Library Center is a nonprofit library service and research organization that has provided computer-based cataloging, reference, resource sharing, eContent and preservation services to 57,000 libraries in 112 countries and territories.  OCLC and its member libraries worldwide have created and maintain WorldCat, the world's richest online resource for finding library materials.  For more information, visit www.oclc.org.

Headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, NetLibrary <www.netlibrary.org> is a division of OCLC.  NetLibrary provides content and technical delivery solutions to institutional libraries, corporations and government agencies that facilitate the purchase, management and distribution of research, reference, digital learning, and general interest content via Web-based technologies.  NetLibrary's eContent solution is the most broadly adopted in the market, making the content of more than 400 publishers and eContent providers available through more than 14,000 libraries worldwide.

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