Columbia University's Starr East Asian Library Receives 2,200 Taiwan Publications from the Information Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office


July 29, 2002 (July 29, 2002) Columbia University's C.V. Starr East Asian Library received 2,200 books published in Taiwan from the Information Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in New York. TECO relocated its library in June and donated its collection to a number of academic libraries.

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Due to TECO's association with Professor David Wang, Chair of the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Columbia, and the strength of the University's program in Chinese literature, TECO donated the books on literature to Columbia. Two graduate students in Chinese studies and Charles Wu, Head of Technical Services at Starr, went to the TECO library and selected over 2,200 volumes. These books significantly enrich the Starr Library's collection.

Dr. Amy Heinrich, Director of the C.V. Starr East Asian Library said, "The addition of these volumes to our collections is tremendous." She continued, "They increase our ability to support research and study of Taiwan and its literature. Receiving this donation of books from TECO is an honor."

The Information Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York is one of more than 50 overseas offices of the Government Information Office (GIO) of the Republic of China on Taiwan. Its primary mission is to promote better understanding between Taiwan and the United States in all aspects by keeping the American press, academic, political, and social leaders abreast of accurate and up-to-date information about Taiwan.

The C. V. Starr East Asian Library is one of the major collections for the study of East Asia in the United States, with well over 720,000 volumes of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tibetan, and Western language materials, with some holdings in Mongol and Manchu, and over 5,000 periodical titles. The collection, established in 1902, is particularly strong in Chinese history, literature, and social sciences; Japanese literature, history, and religion, particularly Buddhism; and Korean history. The library's web site is located at http://www.columbia.edu//cu/lweb/indiv/eastasian/index.html.

For further information contact:

Mr. Charles Wu
Head of Technical Services,
C. V. Starr East Asian Library
(212) 854-2579