TEXT_Pheobe Ho
PHOTOS_Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR Government
In response to the “Macao Library Week” 2022, public libraries of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) and the Library of the University of Macau (UM) jointly organized the “Learning by Reading - Talk on Reading Literacy in Public Libraries and Universities Libraries” on April 26, in which Loi Chi Pang, IC’s Director of the Public Library Management, and Wu Jianzhong, UM’s University Librarian were invited to explore, from the perspective of library management, services and other aspects, the similarities and differences between public libraries and university libraries; and enables Macao’s members of the public, from the perspective of professional librarians, to have a more in-depth thinking and understanding of reading literacy and library operations through their speech.
Regarding the difference between public libraries and university libraries, Loi Chi Pang shared with the audience, from his own experience, the different characteristics of public libraries compared to libraries in neighboring areas. The most obvious difference is the livelihood of the community. Macao people are used to visiting the library “nearby” them, which reflects their living habits. For instance, many students are often seen studying at night in the library. Wu Jianzhong believes that the characteristics of libraries of Macao universities are to create more concepts and environments of information literacy, “reading literacy runs through people’s life, but in modern society, it is not enough for us to only obtain information, we also need to effectively analyze and process information for re-creation.”
Reading is not only a personal matter, but also a major event for a city to create a culture of inclusiveness. On the issue of cultivating the reading literacy among members of the public, Loi Chi Pang believes that the literacy of members of the public in a city should not only be analyzed by the big data on reading, but also be comprehensively evaluated in terms of the cultivation and promotion of reading habits and the satisfaction of their living needs. It is hoped that public libraries can provide members of the public with more friendly reading spaces, so that they can create connections between people in the libraries. On the other hand, Wu Jianzhong believes that the libraries are the cultural centre of a city, the second living room of human beings, as well as the third space of the city. In terms of building library spaces, Macao is a “cultural city” worthy of learning from other cities.
The lecture “Learning by Reading.”
Loi Chi Pang believes that public libraries can bring more reading and interactive spaces to members of the public.
Wu Jianzhong pointed out that reading enables people to think, which is more important than the number of books people read.
