• Index of this issue

No. 66, November 2009

1) Introduction

2009 marks the 76^th anniversary of National Central Library (NCL), and NCL's 55^th year of operation in Taiwan. In order to celebrate its 76^th year, NCL is announcing its first intermediate-term planning project, National Central Library Strategic Plan 2009-2012 (Strategic Plan), aimed at elaborating NCL's commitment to transmitting the past and spurring future innovation.

2) Origin of the Strategic Plan

At the end of 2008, the Ministry of Education (MOE) assessed its vision for cultural organizations under its jurisdiction. The cultural education chief recommended that NCL draw up a long-term strategy to serve as a guide for further development. NCL's Director-general Karl Min Ku considered of the rapid technological development of the recent era and its concomitant influence on the nature of library services and examining the long-term international development of library services, Ku saw that in line with the development of knowledge and technology, leading international libraries around the world have all formulated goals and strategies to continuously extend library services and promote progress in the librarianship. In view of pursuing NCL's fundamental development, transmitting the culture of Taiwan's citizenry, responding to society's information needs, upholding the public's right to pursue information, and promoting the further development of library projects, Director Ku introduced a plan to establish an intermediate-term strategy for library development. The plan ranges from 2009-2012 and serves as a compass for comprehensive development of the library.

3) Formulation Process

The formulation of NCL's Strategic Plan utilizes top-down and bottom-up approaches simultaneously. In accordance with the mission, vision, concept, and direction laid out by the director for the library, each department composed a four-year project proposal comprising goals, strategies and implementation, all of which were compiled and summarized by NCL's Research Division.

In the process of formulation, beyond responding to current internal and external challenges the library faces, the drafting of all the strategic goals and their implementation must produce measures that accord with the MOE's five main conceptual guidelines for 2009-2012: "Quality learning," "Personalized education," "Equal opportunity," "Global view," and "Sustainable development." They must also conform to the "Deepening Roots of Reading and Spatial Reforms: 2009-2012 Library Innovation Service Development Project" promoted by the MOE. Furthermore, the process should include reference and study aimed at staying abreast of other national libraries, integrating with international libraries, bridging the world's bases of knowledge, and researching the goals and strategies of other libraries.

The initial draft of the Strategic Plan was approved at the 23 February 2009 library services meeting. The recommendation of a number of library experts, feedback was sought broadly from library administration, academia, and library professional organizations in early March. After over a month of canvassing for expert opinion, a draft of the Strategic Plan was finally completed prior to NCL's anniversary. This serves as a four year plan for library development, expressing not only the NCL's main concepts for development, but also the library's value and undertaking of social responsibility.

Full text of the plan is available in PDF Format:
National Central Library Strategic Plan 2009-2012 [PDF Format, 100KB]