National Chengchi University (NCCU) resumed operations in Taiwan in 1954. At that time, the University had no dedicated library organization or centralized collections; books and periodicals were kept in small departmental reading rooms. In the spring of 1955, NCCU established a library room in what is now Zhi-Xi Hall, administered by the Office of Academic Affairs. As the University expanded, the need for a unified library service became increasingly evident. In October 1959, the reading room was formally reorganized as the NCCU Library, which has since served as the core institution for gathering, managing, and providing access to academic information resources for the entire campus. The Library’s collections encompass general and specialized materials in Chinese and major foreign languages, spanning all disciplines and multiple media formats. Mr. Ho Jih-Chang was appointed the first Library Director and led early development, while a Library Committee was established to advise on policy and major initiatives.

To further strengthen research in the social sciences—long a defining feature of NCCU— the University founded the Social Sciences Information Center (SSIC) in October 1961. SSIC was positioned as a first-tier administrative unit parallel to the Library and focused on research-driven holdings. Its collections emphasized theses and dissertations, scholarly series, historical newspapers, National Science Council research reports, government publications, and other specialized materials, providing essential support for advanced scholarship in the humanities and social sciences.

During the early decades, various departments continued to maintain their own reading rooms, such as the Journalism Materials Room, the Law Department Library, and the College of Liberal Arts reading space. Library services were largely closed-stack, with readers requesting items via card catalogs and call slips. Recognizing that dispersed collections limited both management efficiency and user access, President Li Yuan-Tsu initiated a plan to construct a centralized library building. The Chung-Cheng Library project began in 1976. Designed by architect Chang Chang-Hua and built by Her-Cheng Construction, the new facility was inaugurated on May 20, 1977, coinciding with NCCU’s 50th anniversary. The building occupied an 804-ping site and offered a total floor area of 4,356 ping. Its five-story reinforced-concrete structure adopted a modular framework and a flexible “one-room” spatial concept, enabling adaptable shelving and reading areas, strong natural lighting and ventilation, and highly efficient use of space. At the time of its opening, Chung-Cheng Library ranked among Taiwan’s largest and most modern university libraries and became a highly visible landmark on campus.

In the late 1970s and onward, NCCU Library entered a period of rapid growth and modernization. Under the leadership of Professor Hu Ou-Lan, a faculty specialist in library and information science, the Library implemented major organizational reforms. Beginning in July 1992, SSIC’s acquisitions and cataloging sections were merged with the corresponding Library divisions. In December of the same year, SSIC’s governance regulations were revised so that the Library Director also served as Director of SSIC. This integration enabled unified planning, coordinated collection development, and more consistent reader services across both entities.

To meet the demands of information technology and library automation, NCCU Library established a Systems and Information Division in 1992 and introduced the Innopac integrated library system developed by Innovative Interfaces, Inc. The system computerized core operations—including acquisitions, cataloging, circulation, serials management, and the online public access catalog. As modules came online in 1993, workflow efficiency and service quality improved substantially. Over time, additional campus collections were incorporated into the NCCU Library automation platform, including the libraries of the Institute of International Relations, the Public Administration and Business Administration Center, and the NCCU Experimental Elementary School, supporting a more coherent campus-wide information environment.

Parallel to these structural changes, the Library actively expanded electronic and networked services. From 1990 onward, it developed campus networking infrastructure, CD-ROM workstations, and web-based access tools. The Library launched NCCU’s electronic theses and dissertations system and migrated SSIC’s Chinese Newspaper and Periodical Index from print to a web platform, accelerating the transition toward digital discovery and online research. In 1996, a Reference Services Division was established to promote database instruction, information literacy, and research consultation. These services helped faculty and students adapt to the growing landscape of digital scholarship.

The Library system also broadened its disciplinary and localized support through branch development. The Journalism Library, originally housed in the Journalism Building, was incorporated into the Chung-Cheng Library administration after 1977 and continued to expand. In 1993 it was renamed the Communication College Branch Library, specializing in communication and media studies and becoming a leading professional collection in Taiwan. The Business Branch Library opened in 1997 with the completion of the College of Commerce building, supporting business and management education and research. Plans for the General Branch Library in the Integrated College Building began in 1997, and the branch opened in 2001 to house nearly three decades of social-science, law, and international-affairs collections, reflecting the Library’s strategy of both centralized stewardship and localized academic service.

With sustained institutional funding, NCCU Library’s collections grew rapidly in scale and diversity. In a 2006 survey by Global Views Monthly comparing university competitiveness across Greater China, NCCU was the only Taiwanese university ranked in the top twenty for “books per student” (106.95 volumes per student), underscoring the Library’s critical role in supporting humanities and social-science scholarship.

Entering the 2000s, the Library underwent a further transformation in response to digitization and changing research practices. SSIC gradually shifted from a print-centered model to a platform-based research service. In 2012, under President Wu Se-Hwa and Director Liu Ji-Shuan, SSIC’s front-building first and second floors were comprehensively renovated. The space integrated the Humanities Center and the Lei Chen Research Center, and was repositioned around a humanities and social-science database service platform featuring survey interview rooms, cross-database integration services, and data-visualization applications. Specialized exhibition and archival spaces—such as the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Library, digital exhibition halls, a Republic of China historical materials room, a rare-books room, and scholars’ study collections—were developed to strengthen NCCU’s role as a hub for historical and cultural resources.

To align with the growth of digital humanities, NCCU Library formally established a Digital Archives Division in 2008, advancing the acquisition, preservation, digitization, and application of special collections. These include Republic-era publications, faculty manuscripts, university historical records, collections donated by renowned scholars, and materials entrusted to the University, gradually forming a digital heritage system distinctive to NCCU.

As the Chung-Cheng Library and branch facilities approached capacity, the University planned a new flagship library in the Zhinan Mountain campus. After the Executive Yuan reassigned the Zhinan Mountain military compound to NCCU in 2010, overall campus planning began in 2013 with a guiding vision rooted in human-centered design, ecological sustainability, and creativity. The new library was identified as a core infrastructure project. In 2016, President Chou Hsing-Yi facilitated a major donation from Ruentex Group Chairman Yin Yen-Liang, honoring Professor Dah-Hsian Seetoo. Construction began in February 2018; the facility obtained occupancy approval in October 2019 and opened for trial operation the following month.

The Dah Hsian Seetoo Library occupies 25,124 square meters, with two basement levels, eight above-ground floors, and a dedicated Reading Pavilion. Its design centers on three concepts: a Learning Commons supporting individual study, group discussion, and large-scale events; a Special Collections Center with high-standard climate-controlled vaults for rare books, manuscripts, and archives; and Information Diversity that integrates open-shelf science reading, theses, audiovisual collections, maker labs, technology-enhanced learning, and digital exhibitions. The terraced book-wall layout creates a “sea of books” visual experience, while the building’s lakeside setting reinforces its identity as both an academic engine and a campus landmark.

Following the opening of the new library, collections from the Institute of International Relations Library and SSIC were consolidated into the NCCU Library system. The Institute of International Relations Library ceased service in October 2019; SSIC’s specialized divisions were incorporated into the Library in 2022, and SSIC formally concluded its sixty-year mission in August 2023. In recent years, with the rise of generative AI and large language models, NCCU Library has expanded AI-related training, workshops, and symposia to enhance digital and research competencies across the University, reaffirming its forward-looking role in teaching, learning, and scholarship.