University of Macau University Librarian Attends the 2026 PRRLA Annual Meeting (2026-09-25)
The 2026 Annual Meeting of the Pacific Rim Research Libraries Alliance (PRRLA) was held from September 14 to 16 at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, Canada, hosted by the University of Victoria Libraries. Under the theme "From Cultural Memory to Knowledge Futures: Libraries in an Era of Intelligent Systems," the meeting brought together approximately 50 library leaders and professionals from North America, Australia, Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong SAR, and Macao SAR.
The meeting opened on September 14 with a Traditional Territorial Welcome from a University of Victoria Indigenous Elder, followed by welcomes from Dr. Lisa Kalynchuk, Vice-President Research & Innovation at the University of Victoria; Jonathan Bengtson, University Librarian; and Benjamin Meunier, PRRLA Secretariat Chair and University Librarian at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Leslie Weir, current President of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and Librarian and Archivist of Canada, delivered the first keynote address, titled "Research Libraries Stepping up to Be Bold in their Leadership and Innovation." Ry Moran, Associate University Librarian – Reconciliation at the University of Victoria, delivered the second keynote, titled "Truth, Reconciliation and Collective Healing: the importance of GLAM institutions."
The meeting featured five thematic sessions covering artificial intelligence, collections, digital discovery, metadata and machine learning, and communities. Topics included AI services and literacy frameworks for libraries, digitized special collections and cross-Pacific collaboration projects, open access and AI-ready collections, metadata ethics and intelligent discovery platforms, as well as Indigenous cultural protocols, internship programs, and post-pandemic library trends.
Hong Xu, University Librarian of the University of Macau, presented a special report titled "'Regarding Books': A Library-Led, Faculty-Curated Museum Model," introducing the museum model led by the University of Macau Library and curated by faculty. The presentation received positive responses from fellow attendees, and the discussions that followed opened valuable opportunities for future collaboration between the University of Macau Library and institutions in the region.
On September 16, attendees joined a day excursion organized by the conference, which included tours of the University of Victoria Libraries' Special Collections, the Farallon Book Arts Lab, and the Historic Computing Lab.
It was announced at the business meeting that the next annual meeting will be hosted by the University of Sydney Library in Australia.
Conference Group Photo 參會者合影
Presentation by Prof. Xu 徐鴻教授做專題演講