As the university’s center for archiving knowledge, the NTU Library has been working to actively acquire unique collections and scholarly works since its establishment. To date, it has accumulated over 250,000 rare books in Chinese and other languages. With a strong emphasis on “Taiwan studies,” the Library continues to expand its holdings by collecting a wide range of books, manuscripts, and other materials. Therefore, it has become a vital institution for archiving Taiwan-related research materials.
Among the most precious Taiwan-related research materials housed in the NTU Library is the “Tan-Hsin Archives,” which comprises a vast and comprehensive collection of county-level administrative and judicial archives from the Qianlong to Guangxu periods of the Qing Dynasty. Another invaluable collection is the “Lahodoboo Documents,” contracts of the Pazeh indigenous peoples from central Taiwan, which serve as first-hand historical records of early Taiwanese settlements.
The Library also houses the work of prominent scholars from the Japanese colonial period, including the Ino Kanori Collection, a vital resource for research on Taiwan’s history, folklore, and indigenous peoples, assembled by Ino Kanori (1867–1925), a pioneer in Taiwan studies. The “Tashiro Antei Collection” is also significant, which was compiled by Tashiro Antei (1856–1928), who worked for the Taiwan Governor-General’s Office and founded the Hengchun Tropical Botanical Garden. His collection includes botanical research materials and valuable field research notes.
Furthermore, the “Iso Eikichi Collection” preserves the legacy of Iso Eikichi (1886–1972), the “father of Penglai rice.” This collection includes his lectures, notes, professional investigation reports, and research manuscripts documenting his agricultural experiments. The Library also holds important records from the Government-General of Taiwan, including statistics, maps, and publications from the Taihoku Imperial University period, which remain invaluable academic treasures.
In addition to these Taiwan-related collections, the NTU Library also houses many ancient Chinese, Japanese, and Western works, including rare Chinese and Japanese books as well as thread-bound books, Japanese Sinological texts, and European incunabula. In recent years, the Library has actively sought to acquire the manuscripts of contemporary scholars. The collection continues to grow and features a diverse array of unique and significant artifacts.
These valuable items are archived in the Library’s Special Collections area, where they can be viewed upon consultation. On the fifth floor, a permanent exhibition space displays replicas of some of these rare items, offering patrons a glimpse into the collection’s richness.
Since 1997, the Library has focused on the digitization of its rare books, manuscripts, and audiovisual materials and has made significant progress toward this goal. Beyond ensuring their long-term preservation, the Library aims to make these resources more widely accessible in digital form, enabling more people to access these invaluable treasures. Readers interested in exploring our digital collections further are invited to visit the Library’s Digitization Projects webpage.