JULAC member libraries undertake a range of collaborative collection development projects as well as other resource sharing programs. While most of the projects have the full participation of all eight JULAC libraries, some may involve a self-selected subgroup because of their common areas of interest, programmatic needs and other considerations.
 JURA - Joint Universities Research Archive
With the support of the Heads of Universities Committee (HUCOM), JULAC proposes to pool and store research materials at an off-campus joint universities research archive (JURA) facility, to provide a long term solution to the research materials storage problems faced by the JULAC libraries. Libraries have insufficient space to store research materials which are no longer in high or immediate demand, but are still of high research value. The UGC considers the proposed JURA project a worthwhile initiative and has given support for the JURA development as a long-term solution to meet the libraries' long-term storage needs. JURA will use state of the art ARS (automatic retrieval system) technology to store and retrieve 7.4 million volumes. The expected completion date for the facility is 2013.
Regional Cooperation
Guangdong Academic Libraries
JULAC and the Guangdong academic libraries hold an annual forum to share experiences and discuss ways to cooperate. Guangdong academic libraries are able to access discarded duplicates from JULAC collections for their libraries. Preservation experts from JULAC and Guangdong libraries undertake exchange visits to instruct preservation staff in new techniques for Chinese and English language books. Discussions from the 2007 Forum initiated a joint conference between the Hong Kong Library Association and the Library Societies of Guangdong and Fujian Provinces, held in October 2007.
Consortial Purchasing
JULAC libraries have participated in the consortial purchase of ebooks with libraries in Taiwan. The Cicada project comprising of 48 libraries in Taiwan and Hong Kong purchased English language ebooks with perpetual access in 2006.
HKALL - Hong Kong Academic Library Link
HKALL is a union catalogue allowing the students and staff of the eight partner institutions to search a mega collection of over 5 million titles of monographs held in the eight participating libraries. They can make direct requests on these materials, and have the materials delivered to the libraries of their respective institutions within 24 hours for further checkout. In cases where printed materials cannot be sent via HKALL, current students and staff may be able to go to that library personally to use the item in question. Although similar projects exist in other parts of the world, HKALL is the first to include a large number of Chinese vernacular items.
HKCAN - Hong Kong Chinese Authority Name Project
The HKCAN was established in 1999 and was led by the libraries of Lingnan University and The Chinese University of Hong Kong. A union database has been established which provides access to Chinese authority records. The database currently has more than 180,000 authority records. In July 2005 an agreement was reached with OCLC for HKCAN records to available to all OCLC libraries. Rita Wong, Deputy Librarian,The Chinese University of Hong Kong is the HKCAN Chair.
ERALL - Electronic Resources Academic Library Link
Through the UGC funding for the Electronic Resources Academic Library Link (ERALL), the JULAC libraries have purchased over 16,000 English language e-books with perpetual access for multiple simultaneous users. The purchased e-books cover a wide range of subjects to support the UGC funded programmes. As part of the Electronic Resources Academic Library Link (ERALL) project, an international conference "Emerging Paradigms for Academic Library E-Book Acquisition and Use: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities", was held in June 2008 at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The conference aimed to promote the exchange of experiences and best practices in strategic collection development, acquisitions, promotion and use of e-books . Conference presentations can be found at http://dspace.cityu.edu.hk/handle/2031/4.
HKMAC - Hong Kong Monograph Acquisitions Consortium
Established in 2005 the Hong Kong Monograph Acquisitions Consortium (HKMAC) enables the eight libraries to use their collective purchasing power to purchase English language print monographs at a very significant discount.
RapidILL - Inter Library Loans
To further complement JULAC's inter library loan systems and enhance resource sharing, JULAC libraries are now using RapidILL. RapidILL is a fast and cost-effective article requesting system designed and managed by the Colorado State University Libraries Interlibrary Loan department. JULAC libraries can access the collections of major libraries in Hong Kong, United States, Canada and Taiwan. Libraries participating in Rapid have agreed to provide 24 hour turnaround time (Monday-Friday) for lending requests.
Seminars, Workshops and Conferences
In addition to the seminars, workshops, and conferences organized by JULAC and individual JULAC member libraries, JULAC also offers similar programs in co-sponsorship with other professional groups as a means of enhancing the learning environment for the library information community.
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