TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s National Central Library (NCL) swore in its new director-general Wang Han-ching (王涵青) on Thursday (Feb. 1).

She will be leaving her post as University Librarian of the National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) Library, per CNA.

The handover ceremony took place in the NCL briefing room, with attendees including former library directors Wang Wen-ru (王文陸) and Ku Min (顧敏), President of NCKU Shen Meng-ru (沈孟儒), and Minister of Education (MOE) Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠). Outgoing acting director Weng Chih-tsung (翁誌聰) handed the library’s seal to Wang, formalizing the handover process.

In her speech, Wang said she hoped the library can continue providing access to information to the general public. By integrating library collections, research exploration, and STREAM (science, technology, reading, engineering, arts, and mathematics) literacy, she plans to develop new thinking in both the humanities and sciences across generations.

Wang said she intends to build on the strategy for 2021-2030 by incorporating the six core values of “knowledge, culture, learning, experience, innovation, and cooperation” with 10 new focuses. These are “energetic, tolerant, cultivating, appreciation, humanities, science, aesthetics, interdisciplinary, creativity, and practice.”

Minister Pan also spoke at the ceremony, saying that during Wang’s tenure as the University Librarian at the NCKU Library, she led the library to receive the MOE’s Library Contribution Award as well as win the Outstanding Librarian Award award twice. She also successfully promoted the “NCKU Books-One City” project, bringing university collections and the learning capacity of NCKU faculty and students to remote areas, he added.

Pan said he hopes that under Wang’s leadership, the NCL will continue to play a pivotal role in preserving Taiwanese literature, promoting reading habits, and engaging in international cultural exchanges.