About the Library

Established in 2000, the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) Library serves as a cornerstone of academic support for the University’s teaching, research, and cultural inheritance. Aligned with the development goals of both the Macao Special Administrative Region (Macao SAR) and the University, it is positioned as a research-oriented academic library while also serving multiple institutional functions as the Data Solutions, University History Museum, Archives, and Museum. In recent years, the Library has been committed to strengthening its support for disciplinary development and innovation, research translation, and smart learning. It has developed a specialized and systematic data and digital resource ecosystem, integrated smart services and librarian assistance, refined service standards, enhanced international and domestic exchanges and collaboration, and created a high-standard, sustainable smart digital library.

With ongoing support from the Macao SAR government and the University, the Library's literature resources have continuously advanced, forming a comprehensive and diverse collection covering all academic disciplines. Foremost among them is the work Zhonghua Yizang (100 volumes), presented by President Xi Jinping during his visit to MUST on December 19, 2024. This gift has strengthened the Traditional Chinese Medicine discipline of the University and has become a treasured possession of the Library. By the end of 2025, the total number of literature resources had exceeded nine million titles, including 400,000 volumes/items of print books and periodicals. It comprises 2.49 million titles of books and ebooks, 220,000 titles of newspapers and periodicals (both print and electronic), 6.2 million titles of print and electronic dissertations and theses, as well as 500 renowned academic databases, both domestic and international.

The special collections of the Library feature distinctive local historical and cultural characteristics. These include the Global Mapping of Macao, which has gathered 12,000 maps from more than 70 cultural institutions across over 20 countries around the world. Also featured are over 100,000 Macao historical image archives, extensively documenting the urban transformation and social life of the city, as well as Macao cultural and artistic collections such as rare books, rubbings, manuscripts, posters, packaging of design, handwritten postcards, calligraphy, paintings, drawings, and sculptures.

The Library adheres to the service philosophy of “People-Oriented” and actively advances a digitalized smart service system. Along with providing fundamental learning and teaching services such as loan services, reading advisory, literature retrieval, interlibrary loan and document delivery, space reservation, and textbook ordering and distribution, the Library has consolidated its information literacy framework covering resource literacy, data literacy, intellectual property literacy, AI literacy, and writing literacy, and launched the branded service “iMUST InfoLit Series” to enhance students’ information literacy competence.

The Library also delivers research services such as decision support, research support, data support, intellectual property and patent services for decision centers, faculty and research teams. It undertakes the development of the University Scholar Hub, University Academic Achievements, and University Fact Database, and conducts disciplinary/institutional competitiveness analysis. In 2025, the Library launched its first smart service platform for specialized disciplinary studies “Academy of Xiangshan Studies--Research Resources, Knowledge Discovery & Scholarly Quest”.

As the Culture Center of the University, the Library provides a wide range of cultural services for the Macao communities and the University. It curates and offers guided tours of the University History and Achievements Exhibition, showcasing the University’s development history and research achievements. It also hosts the Global Mapping of Macao as a permanent exhibition with guided tours by appointment. The MUST Heritage Collection at the entrance displays publications by faculty, students and alumni. In addition, the Library holds a variety of thematic exhibitions and cultural events throughout the year, including the Lotus Cup Reading and Composition Competition, the Master's Lecture Series, reading salons, as well as photography exhibitions, calligraphy and painting exhibitions, thematic book exhibitions and artistic collection exhibitions for promoting a vibrant academic and cultural ambiance.

The Library develops its infrastructure in line with the principle of “Compact and Organized, Advanced and Efficient”. The total service area is over 10,000 square meters, the Main Library is situated on Floor 1 to 4 of Block N on the Main Campus with a 24-hour study area and a reading room on the Praia Park Campus, providing approximately 1,500 study seats, one multimedia classroom, 10 discussion meeting rooms, 11 individual study rooms and one mini-theater, offering a flexible and diverse learning and research environment for faculty and students. The space is equipped with wireless network, 138 public computers, self-service book check-in/out kiosks, print & copy stations, and a digital studio. Since 2010 the Library has fully introduced RFID intelligent management technology ahead in Macao, become the first among academic libraries to adopt the new generation system Alma in 2019, and subsequently launched the Scan & Borrow application on WeMust, the smart campus platform of the University. In 2025, it further deployed advanced technologies such as AI Academic Search and AI Enquiry, effectively raising service standards.

Based in Macao, a meeting point of Chinese and Western cultures, the Library proactively promotes international exchanges and participates in the collaboration and sharing of domestic and international resources, serving the educational, academic and library communities in Macao and worldwide. It engages in partnership with the National Digital Library of China, the National Science and Technology Library (NSTL) of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the China Academic Library and Information System (CALIS) of the Ministry of Education, the China Academic Social Sciences and Humanities Library (CASHL), and the China Academic Digital Associative Library (CADAL). It is also responsible for the institutions of the Macao Intellectual Property Service Center and the Macao Science and Technology Information Service Center. It has established long-term collaborations with distinguished domestic and international libraries and institutions for literature assurance, including Peking University Library, Tsinghua University Library, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Library, National Library of China, National Science Library of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sun Yat-sen Library of Guangdong Province, Chinese University of Hong Kong Library, National Taiwan University Library, Library of Congress, Harvard University Library, British Library, University of Cambridge Library, University of Oxford Library and National Library of Portugal. Meanwhile, it is an institutional member of professional and resource collaboration and sharing organizations such as the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), the Macao Library and Information Management Association, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao University Library Alliance and the Macao University Library Alliance. In 2025, it also became the first institutional member from Macao to join the Library Society of China.

The Library currently has 50 staff members, with six teams (departments), one cross departmental team and three affiliated institutions. Committed together, dedicated in practice, bold in innovation, all librarians endeavor to shape a high-standard smart digital library for the advancement of culture and education in Macao and the University.