Library CUHK

Name

Library CUHK

Legal name

The Chinese University of Hong Kong Library

Website

https://lib.cuhk.edu.hk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Library Services

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (519210), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (519), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAEAGAB

Academic & Research Library Operations (College/University Libraries)

Education/Education Facilities & Support Services/Library, Media Center & Learning Space Operations

SECONDARYEDAEAGAF

Digital Library & Electronic Resources Operations (e-Resources, Repositories, Licensing)

Education/Education Facilities & Support Services/Library, Media Center & Learning Space Operations

SECONDARYEDAEAGAD

Special Libraries (Law, Medical, Corporate, Government) Operations

Education/Education Facilities & Support Services/Library, Media Center & Learning Space Operations

SECONDARYEDAEAGAL

Library User Services & Information Support (Reference, Research Help, Instruction Support)

Education/Education Facilities & Support Services/Library, Media Center & Learning Space Operations

SECONDARYEDAEAGAE

Library Collections & Cataloging Services (Acquisitions, Metadata, Circulation)

Education/Education Facilities & Support Services/Library, Media Center & Learning Space Operations

Keywords

• Academic library services
• Research support services
• Digital scholarship services
• Special collections management
• Interlibrary loan services

Headquarters

HQ city

Sha Tin, New Territories

HQ country

Hong Kong SAR China

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Public Institution - University Funded: CUHK Library is a university department funded through the Chinese University of Hong Kong's operating budget. Services are provided at no direct cost to eligible users including students, faculty, and staff. Some fee-based library memberships are available for external users.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Chinese University of Hong Kong Library is a multi-branch academic library system comprising seven libraries that provide physical and digital collections, study spaces, research support, and digital scholarship services to the CUHK community. It manages approximately 2.6 million print volumes, 6.8 million e-books, 231,000+ e-journals, and 1,600+ databases, along with special collections including Shang Dynasty oracle bones and rare Chinese books. Core services include borrowing, interlibrary loan, digital scholarship (GIS, data visualization, text-mining), research data management, and the Learning Garden & MakerSpace.

Product overview

The Chinese University of Hong Kong Library is a multi-branch research library system consisting of seven libraries: University Library (main branch with Special Collections, Digital Scholarship Lab, and Learning Garden & MakerSpace), Chung Chi College Library, New Asia College Library, United College Library, Li Ping Medical Library, Lee Quo Wei Law Library, and Architecture Library, plus Learning Commons. The core product is LibrarySearch (Primo-based discovery platform) providing unified access to physical and electronic collections including approximately 2.6 million print volumes, 6.8 million e-books, and 231,000 e-journals. Key service modules include digital scholarship support (data visualization, GIS, text-mining), research data management, interlibrary loan (HKALL/JULAC networks), open science initiatives (Open Books Hong Kong), and the LEAD online learning platform. The Learning Garden & MakerSpace offers 3D printing, VR, and laser cutting services. Collections include Special Collections with Shang dynasty oracle bones, rare books, and university archives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Open Books Hong Kong (開讀): Open access initiative jointly launched by CUHK, City University of Hong Kong, and University of Hong Kong in July 2024 to provide free access to academic books
• Digital Scholarship Lab
• Learning Garden & MakerSpace (進學園及創客空間)
• CUHK Digital Repository
• CUHK Research Data Repository

Products and services

• University Library The main library building housing the primary collection, Special Collections, Digital Scholarship Lab, Learning Garden & MakerSpace, and the Universities Service Centre for China Studies Collection. Serves the entire CUHK community.
• Special Collections Rare and unique materials including oracle bones from the Shang dynasty, Chinese rare books, modern literary archives, and manuscripts. Available to researchers and students.
• Learning Garden & MakerSpace Creative learning space offering 3D printing, scanning, virtual reality, laser cutting, UV printing, and Creative Media Studio services. Designed for student innovation and hands-on learning.
• Digital Scholarship Lab Research support facility providing digital humanities, data visualization, GIS, and text-mining services for faculty and graduate students.
• LibrarySearch Unified discovery platform powered by Ex Libris Primo, enabling cross-search of the library catalog, electronic resources, and institutional repository.
• CUHK Digital Repository Institutional repository preserving and providing access to CUHK's digitized collections, electronic theses, and research outputs.
• Li Ping Medical Library Medical library located at the Teaching Hospital in Sha Tin, supporting the Faculty of Medicine with clinical research, medical literature, and healthcare information resources.
• Lee Quo Wei Law Library Law library with Legal Resources Centre supporting the Faculty of Law and related programs with legal research, case law access, and legal database searching.
• Chung Chi College Elisabeth Luce Moore Library College library with materials supporting humanities, education, and music, including early childhood instructional materials and theatre archives.
• New Asia College Ch'ien Mu Library College library with art collections, local art archives, and materials supporting the college's academic programs.
• United College Wu Chung Library College library supporting the United College community with general education and multidisciplinary collections.
• Architecture Library Specialized library supporting the School of Architecture with materials on architectural design, building information, and design resources.
• Interlibrary Loan & Document Delivery Services enabling users to borrow materials from other libraries through HKALL and international interlibrary loan programs.
• Digital Scholarship Service Research support services including digital humanities, data visualization, GIS, text-mining, and consultation for digital research projects.
• Research Data Service Comprehensive research data management support including data management plans, CUHK Research Data Repository, and Data Champions Programme.
• Open Books Hong Kong (開讀) Open access initiative jointly launched by CUHK, CityU HK, and HKU in July 2024, providing free access to academic books. Has reached over 400,000 readers across 100+ countries.
• LEAD (Library Essentials for All Disciplines) Self-paced online learning course covering research skills, citation management, academic publishing, and AI literacy.
• CUHK History Gallery University history exhibition space showcasing the history and heritage of The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2,027,880 library visits per year
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

AI capability7 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• City University of Hong Kong LibrarycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2024Joint partner in Open Books Hong Kong initiative launched July 2024, providing open access to academic books across 100+ countries reaching nearly 400,000 readers.
• University of Hong Kong LibrarycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2024Joint partner in Open Books Hong Kong initiative launched July 2024, providing open access to academic books across 100+ countries reaching nearly 400,000 readers.
• Pacific Rim Research Libraries Alliance (PRRLA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational consortium of research libraries in the Pacific Rim region for collaborative collection development and resource sharing.
• Pacific Neighbors Association (PNC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional library cooperation organization supporting academic resource sharing in the Pacific region.
• China Academic Digital Associative Library (CADAL)coreTechnology or IntegrationDigital library cooperation providing access to digitized academic resources from Chinese universities.
• International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal library association providing international standards, guidelines, and professional development for academic libraries.
• China Academic Library & Information System (CALIS)coreTechnology or IntegrationChina's national academic library consortium providing shared cataloguing and resource discovery services.
• Hong Kong & Macau Periodical NetworkminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRegional network for periodical access and document delivery between Hong Kong and Macau libraries.
• Joint University Librarians Advisory Committee (JULAC)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsortium of 8 Hong Kong university libraries providing shared library system, interlibrary loans, and collaborative collection development. Enables 3,800 CUHK users to access other UGC libraries and 2,292 external JULAC users to access CUHK.
• Knowledge & Education Exchange Platform (KEEP)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEducational resource sharing platform for Hong Kong higher education institutions.
• CUHK PresscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on open access publishing initiatives and library publication distribution.

Scale indicators20 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• City University of Hong Kong Library: CityU Library is the third JULAC partner in Open Books Hong Kong alongside CUHK and HKU. Comparable in operating model (UGC-funded, multi-branch academic library serving a Hong Kong research university) and target user base, with similar emphasis on digital scholarship services.
• University of Hong Kong Libraries: HKU Libraries is CUHK Library's closest peer as the other flagship Hong Kong UGC research library. The two share the JULAC consortium, jointly launched Open Books Hong Kong in July 2024, and compete directly for faculty, postgraduates, and special collections in bilingual humanities and China studies.
• Peking University Library: Peking University Library is one of the largest academic library systems in Greater China and a natural peer for CUHK on bilingual Chinese humanities and rare book holdings. Connected via CADAL/CALIS partnerships CUHK Library maintains, and serves as the main Mainland counterpart for China studies collections.
• Tsinghua University Library: Tsinghua University Library is a leading Mainland Chinese research library with comparable digital scholarship infrastructure and bilingual collections. As a CADAL/CALIS partner of CUHK Library, it is a strong functional and aspirational peer for technology-enabled academic library services.

Emerging players

• MIT Libraries: MIT Libraries is a leading peer for digital scholarship, open access publishing, and data services, all of which CUHK Library is actively expanding. Useful reference for the maker/innovation space model and for integrating library services into STEM research workflows.

Broad incumbents

• Harvard Library: Harvard Library is the largest academic library system in the world and shares CUHK's structure of multiple specialised subject libraries, major special/rare collections, and a strong digital repository. A high-level benchmark for the multi-branch, multi-discipline model CUHK Library operates.
• Stanford University Libraries: Stanford Libraries is a global benchmark for digital scholarship, special collections, and library-published open access initiatives. Comparable in its emphasis on Digital Humanities labs, maker spaces, and high-end rare holdings, making it a relevant reference peer for CUHK Library's Digital Scholarship Lab and Special Collections strategy.
• National University of Singapore Libraries: NUS Libraries operates the largest academic library system in Southeast Asia and is a comparable bilingual (English/Chinese/Malay) research library serving a top Asian research university. Useful benchmark for digital scholarship scale, regional consortia participation, and library-driven open-access publishing initiatives.
• Yale University Library: Yale Library is a leading Ivy League research library with global rare book and archival holdings comparable in profile to CUHK's Special Collections (East Asian rare books, modern literary archives). A relevant peer for high-end special collections stewardship and exhibition programming.

Regional players

• University of Tokyo Libraries: The University of Tokyo Library System is a major non-Anglophone East Asian research library with comparable scale (~10M volumes) and consortia participation. Relevant peer for benchmarking East Asian digital scholarship services and managing large bilingual (Japanese/English) research collections.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/CUHKLibraries
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/CUHKLibraries
• Facebookfacebook.com/CUHKLibraries
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/library-cuhk
• Instagraminstagram.com/cuhklibraries

Compliance13 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Library CUHK