LIBRARY RESOURCES FOR AMERICAN-STUDIES IN TAIWAN - A REASSESSMENT

Library resources for American Studies in Taiwan were first surveyed i n 1969, and were judged inadequate for teaching in all the major field s. Six years later, due to the many changes that had taken place, both in the development of American Studies programs and in the build-up o f library resources, a more systematic survey of the library resources was conducted. It indicated that the resources at the individual acad emic institutions were adequate for teaching at the undergraduate leve l but inadequate for graduate instruction, writing M.A. theses and fac ulty research. The total library resources for American Studies in Tai wan were not regarded as adequate for writing M.A. theses or faculty r esearch. In 1993, at the suggestion of the American Institute in Taiwa n, the library resources were reassessed. Results of the new survey in dicated that the resources had been improved since the 1975 study. How ever, the improvement at the academic institutions had been slow, unev en, and sporadic, and had not been kept up with the needs of the facul ty and students. The total resources for American Studies in Taiwan we re considered adequate for graduate instruction, but less than adequat e for graduate and faculty research. Based on the findings, recommenda tions were made to further improve the library resources for American Studies in Taiwan.