If you have been to the exhibition of library promotional\nitems held earlier at the UM Library, you would probably have noticed the\nvarious kinds of promotional items from nearly 30 libraries around the world.\nDid you know that these items are part of the collections of Dr . Raymond Wong,\nassistant librarian of UM? This issue of \u201cTell Us Your Story\u201d tells you Dr.\nWong\u2019s story as a collector.<\/p>\n\n
Dr. Wong received his primary and secondary\neducation in Hong Kong. In 1982 he went to Taiwan to study library science at\nFu Jen Catholic University. After graduation from Fu Jen Catholic University,\nhe went on to obtain several further degrees\u2014a master\u2019s degree in applied\nscience from Charles Sturt University in Australia, a master\u2019s degree in\nhistory from Jinan University in Guangzhou, China, a master\u2019s degree in curriculum\ndesign from UM, and a PhD degree in information management from Peking\nUniversity. When did his interest in collecting start? \u201cIt started when I was\nin middle school,\u201d recalls Dr. Wong. \u201cOur teacher taught us to collect stamps.\nSlowly I expanded the scope of my collection to include clippings of pictures\nof cars, travel brochures, etc. and I found the process very interesting, very\neducational and gratifying.\u201d Dr. Wong\u2019s collections are varied. Apart from the\npromotional items of libraries from around the world, he also collects file\nfolders, seals and postcards.<\/p>\n\n
When was the first time Dr. Wong started collecting\nlibrary promotional items then? \u201cIt was in late 1987 when I just joined the UM\nLibrary,\u201d says Dr. Wong. \u201cI was attending a seminar on a library-related topic\nwhich was organised by Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou. At the seminar I\nwas impressed by a plastic bag printed with a picture of the university\u2019s\nauditorium. So I started collecting library promotional items. Now my friends\nmake fun of me because whenever I visit a new library, I collect promotional\nitems like crazy.\u201d Of all the library promotional items he has collected over\nthe years, which one is his favourite? \u201cA set of library cards from a library\nin Puli Township, Taiwan,\u201d answers Dr. Wong. \u201cThis library hosts artists and\nwriters in residence every year, and produces library cards featuring the\npictures and works of those artists. I thought this idea very creative, because\nnot only does it help to promote library activities, it also helps to spread\nthe spirit of creativity.\u201d Dr. Wong likes to collect inspirations too. For instance,\nhe once visited a library in Taiwan which applies the \u201cpoker cards\u201d concept to library\ncollection and service. Inspired, he returned to UM and developed a set of\nlibrary cards aimed at capturing and maintaining memories about the current UM\nLibrary, which are not only more appealing than regular library cards, but also\nmake library promotion more effective and environmentally friendly.<\/p>\n\n
Famous libraries like the Library of Congress and\nthe New York Public Library in the United States and the National Library Board\nSingapore have left an especially deep impression on Dr. Wong and have given\nhim many inspirations. \u201cWhen people visit a museum, they probably spend more\ntime in the gift shop than inside the museum, because what\u2019s in the museum, you\ncan\u2019t take away, but those in the gift shop, you can,\u201d says Dr. Wong. \u201cThe cultural\nand creative industry is very well-developed in some foreign countries, the\ntraces of which can be found not just in museums but also in libraries.\u201d Dr.\nWong thinks that a library is more than just a place where one borrows and\nreturns books; he thinks a library should care about the readers, keep pace\nwith the development of society, and be a trend-setter.<\/p>
Dr.\nWong\u2019s Tips for Collecting<\/b>\n\n<\/p>
\u201cBe clear about your interests, because you will pay\nmore attention to what interests you. Try to understand more about the items\nyou want to collect. Learn how to collect them and where to find them. Normally\nI would first collect and then organise my collections and learn about the\nstory behind each item. Try to collect valuable, rare items with special significance.\nI visit second-hand book shops every weekend to see if I can stumble upon\nsomething I like.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If you have been to the exhibition of library promotional items held earlier at the UM Library, you would probably have noticed the various kinds of promotional items from nearly…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":114206,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-149286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n