Under normal circumstances you would have expected to hear urgently whispered warnings of "Shhhh over there!". But 23 October was a special occasion for library-users and librarians alike, as crowds gathered in the Ping Yuan and Kinmay W Tang Gallery for the Bookmark Me@UST Program launch ceremony.

President Prof Paul Chu officiated and addressed the unique spirit of the program: "Not only does it provide a personalized way for us to honor our friends, mentors or loved ones, but we are also supporting the Library to expand its collection and resources, as well as helping the University to double the funds raised through the program by applying them to the government's Matching Grant Scheme."

A book for everyone and every occasion
By making a donation through Bookmark Me@UST, any one of us can dedicate a book in the library collection, whether it be for a friend or relative, or to commemorate a special occasion. The dedication, written by the donor, will be printed on a lovely bookplate and then affixed to the inside cover of the specially selected volume.

There are two levels of donation to choose between: with the $500 package you can select the subject area of your book, and for $1,000 you can choose a specific library book you wish to dedicate.

And there are plenty of books available to "bookmark"! How about The Anthropology of Friendship to show your best friend how much they mean to you (Library call number: GN846.3.A58 1999)? Or perhaps The Miracles of Mentoring (BF723.P25 D67 2000) to honor your favorite mentor?

Launch goes without a hitch
During the launch ceremony, the first library books were dedicated by faculty, staff, students and an alumna. The majority of the inaugural "bookmarkers" were donating to the Library a book they had written themselves.

Prof Yue Kuen Kwok of the mathematics department dedicated his latest publication to his parents. In a touching speech, he explained that he was honoring them for all their support over the years and for providing him and his five brothers and sisters with a good education despite some very hard times. Alumna Carman Chan honored her father with her bestseller on optimizing brainpower, while the Humanities Division's Prof Samuel Cheung dedicated his book to his mentor Prof Chou Fa-Kao, the world-famous linguistics scholar. "It was largely due to his inspiration, encouragement and guidance that I took my first step into the field and began my study of the Cantonese language, " Prof Cheung said.

Another star of the show was second-year computer science student Stanley Shu, who dedicated a volume to his mother for all her loving support. Too young to have written his own book yet, there's still plenty of time for Stanley to top the New York Times bestseller list in the future!

	Related links:	-	Visit The HKUST Library to see what books are available to "bookmark".
		-	Donate via the Bookmark Me@UST website.