Taipei, April 21 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian presided over the inauguration in Taipei Monday of two new online databases as part of the 70th anniversary celebration of the establishment of the National Central Library.
The library was founded in Nanking in 1933 and followed the Nationalist government to Taiwan in 1949. Operations were reestablished in 1954. Today, the library has gone online and its site gets an estimated 170,000 hits each day.
The president stressed that books are the repository of human knowledge, and that the library has been the guardian of this information.
The president also oversaw the opening of the "Taiwan memory" and "Taiwan info" online databases.
Chen said the new databases will enable the public to increase their basic knowledge of Taiwan and serve as a convenient reference.
The "Taiwan memory" database holds a digital archive of Taiwanese historical documents and materials. In future, more material will be included on the site, including written documents, images and sounds.
By linking together the rich historical resources of the library, this database will provide a comprehensive framework displaying various Taiwanese views, attitudes and beliefs through time and contain an historical archive of the Taiwanese people.
The "Taiwan info" database is available to increase the basic knowledge of Taiwan among the general population. This database will also develop useful reference materials to guide people for further research.