Librarianship in China. Libraries in China

The largest library in China.

The library was founded in 1909 as the "Capital Teachers' Library" in agreement with the throne and government of China's last Qing dynasty. After the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, the "Capital Teachers' Chambers" were renamed Peking University, and the library was transferred to the Ministry of Education in August 1912 and opened to visitors. In 1916, it was entrusted with the functions of the country's main library. In 1928, the library received the status of the National Library.

In December 1998, the State Council approved changing the library's name to Zhongguo Guojia Tushuguan (National Library of China). In accordance with the Press Law of 1930, the National Library began to register Chinese printed materials, and a year later a special building was built for it. By the time of the proclamation of the Chinese People's Republic The library's collections contained at least one and a half million documents.

The National Library of China is a comprehensive scientific library, a national publication repository, a national bibliographic center, National Center network of library and information and scientific and technical libraries and the Development Center. The total area of ​​the library is 170,000 square meters, ranking fifth among world libraries. By the end of 2003, the library had a rich collection of 24,1100,000 volumes and was ranked fifth among libraries in the world. The collection numbered 270,000 volumes rare books, 1,600,000 volumes of ancient books.

As of 2010, the library is housed in three buildings. The main building was built in 1987. The old building was built in 1931 and was the main building until 1987; it now houses the ancient books department of the library. On September 9, 2008, a new building to the north of the Main Building, which had been under construction since 2003, was put into operation (the authors of the project are Michael Zimmermann and Jürgen Engel). With a total area of ​​more than 80.5 thousand square meters, the new building can serve about 8 thousand readers simultaneously. Now, together with the new building, the total area of ​​the library is 250 thousand square meters. Only the National Libraries of France and the USA are ahead of it. The main building is also called the "Southern Section of the National Library of China", and the new building is called the "Northern Section of the National Library of China".

The library not only has the most large collection Chinese books in the world, but also the largest collection of materials on foreign languages in the country. The library is open to the public 365 days a year and online services are available 24 hours a day using various means communications.

China.
The oldest evidence of Chinese libraries dates back to the Shang Dynasty (1040 BC). At that time, they were collections of oracle bones, turtle shells and shells. If we consider these libraries from modern classification, then we will see a typical industry library on magic and fortune telling a la Hogwarts.

Flipping forward in our imagination 800 years through the chapters of history, we find ourselves in the time of the first Chinese emperor (220 BC), who became famous not only for the Great Wall of China and the unification of the Celestial Empire, but also for the general audit of library collections in his state. The emperor was ardent and prudent: in order for the young country to avoid a subsequent possible split, he ordered the burning of all books “that interfere with the foundations of the state and undermine its integrity.” However, at the same time, two copies of the burned works were to be included in the emperor's personal library. Apparently, only the Son of Heaven should have had access to forbidden information. Be that as it may, this act could not save the empire of Qin Shi Huang from an early collapse, as soon as the emperor’s body found itself in the tomb under the protection of the terracotta army. However, some scientists consider the episode with the total cleansing of funds to be legendary and without any reliable basis.
Of the librarians of the next dynasty, the Han (206 BC - 220 AD), it is worth noting Liu Xiang (80 BC), who prepared the first Chinese bibliography, and his son Liu Xin, who created first catalog imperial library. (portrait of Liu Xiang)

For many subsequent centuries, Chinese libraries were fully engaged commonplace- were created, assembled, developed, and then burned, destroyed or optimized. The change of dynasties was especially painful for libraries - it is difficult to survive in the flames of another struggle for power...
The 18th century is the heyday of library science in the Middle Kingdom. Emperor Hongli (photo) (also known as Qianlong), belonging to the Manchu Qing dynasty, ordered the construction of the first National Library, where scholars had access. Students now have the official opportunity to work in private and monastic libraries. However, not all was well: censorship flourished, fires of objectionable books blazed regularly. From 1774 to 1784, more than 2.3 thousand publications were completely banned, and 342 were partially banned. Their burning in 1774-1782 occurred with noticeable regularity 24 times: during this period, almost 14 thousand books were thrown into the fire. Particularly interesting is the category of books “not worthy of attention,” but not subject to burning. They were not recommended to be read, studied, published, used in teaching activities. This time also became famous for the fight against “immoral” literature, which included many masterpieces of Chinese classical literature, various works of folklore... Well, they give with one hand, and take away with the other: a common practice of sovereigns. (photo of Hongli's portrait)

In the Russian revolutionary year of 1905, the first public library opened in China in the city of Hunan.
The “Great Helmsman” Mao Zedong, as well as the last Chinese emperor Pu Yi, each at one time worked in the library field. In 1918, Mao Zedong took a job as an assistant librarian at the Peking University Library, where he worked under Li Dazhao, the chief librarian and a prominent Chinese Marxist. The last Chinese emperor Pu Yi, after serving in a Chinese prison and being released in 1954, worked as an archivist at the Chinese National Library. The library as the alpha and omega of a political career.
As we see, the library tradition of China is as old as the Middle Empire itself.
But let's leave the past to historians. Modern China- this is dynamism, speed, risky projects on the edge of the possible, dizzying scale. Deep roots allow modern ideas to bear fruit abundantly. Libraries are by no means excluded from the sphere of Chinese progress. They often set the tone in design, technology and progressive approaches. In order not to be unfounded, I will give a few examples.
The Guangzhou City Library (the third largest city in China) boasts a total area of ​​approximately 100,000 m2 and a collection that includes approximately 4 million books. Main feature This library is that it gives visitors direct access to shelves on which 3.5 million books await their readers, making it the world's largest open public library. At the center of the building is an atrium that crosses the building from east to west. This atrium provides sunlight on each floor and also serves as natural ventilation. (photo from Guangzhou Library)




Architects in China have implemented the concept of an unusual library, in which there is hardly anything that will distract visitors from their leisurely and concentrated exploration of books. The fact is that the Sanlian Public Library is located far from noisy highways and crowded streets, namely on a deserted sandy beach near the city of Qinhuangdao. Just a few meters from its walls is the sea - you can admire it from the windows reading room. There are no roads leading to the building, which has already received the title of “China’s loneliest library” - you can only get there on foot. (photo from Sanlian Library)

The city of Ordos, Inner Mongolia region, appears in all its beautiful desolation as a kind of urban and architectural curiosity, like a concrete mirage. In a city designed for 1 million inhabitants, with a fully developed infrastructure, currently no more than 30,000 people live. The city library was also built for the theoretical number of inhabitants, but to this day it is only a ghost of an unfulfilled possibility. A library without readers, books and meaning. Visual proof that it is not the walls that make a library come alive. (Ordos library photo)




Let’s move on from mega-objects to more modest, but no less interesting projects.This hutong (a traditional Chinese multi-house building) is located in quiet place one kilometer from Tiananmen Square in the center of Beijing. Residents and neighbors made a small library of 9 square meters for their children and a space for play and creative self-realization. We tried to fit all the innovations into the existing environment as much as possible, since the houses around are about 300 years old. (hutong library photo)





Japan.
We'll start our story about Japanese libraries with small retreat. In front of you is a statue of Kinjiro, a 19th century boy from a remote village. There's a bundle of firewood behind you, and a book in your hands. Every schoolchild in the Land of the Rising Sun knows that this boy read a lot and completed his studies to become a respected scholar. As always in similar stories the facts of the biography are supplemented by romantic details of implicit eyewitnesses and distant descendants, but this does not make the fact worse.
There are a great many sculptures of Kinjiro in Japan. This one stands in the center of Tokyo, near a bookstore: it subtly hints that any peasant boy can become respected, rich and famous if he reads (Kinjiro statue)

The man who created Japan's first library was named Umayado no Oji.known as Prince Shotoku. Horuji Castle in Nara Province is considered the oldest library in Japan. Founding time - beginning of the 7th century AD. The prince also has the honor of being the first Japanese writer and appearing on the 10,000 yen banknote. (photo of Prince Shitoku and Horouji Castle)



The National Library of Japan, Zushoryo, began its existence in 702 AD. She was responsible for collecting and preserving Buddhist Confucian books, and also led official history states. In today's times, it was a kind of library and publishing complex, which included large staff employees: 4 paper makers, 10 brush makers and 20 text copiers. The library also had its own charter, which stipulated the procedure for processing, storing, copying and issuing books. Unfortunately, in 833, many of the library buildings were destroyed by fire. Zushoryo functioned until the beginning of the 11th century, when the next fire element completed the destruction.
Before the reign of the Togugawa shogunate, libraries in Japan were represented by monastic and private collections of samurai, sometimes quite extensive. For example, the library of samurai Kanazawa in 1275 included about 7,000 manuscripts and 20,000 ancient books. (Pictured: entrance to Kanazawa Library)


Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of Japan from the Tokugawa clan, in 1601 ordered the construction of a personal library on the territory of his castle in Edo, which was carried out. He personally searched for valuable books for his library, including all possible collections of books. In particular, the Kanazawa library was “merged” into the Ieyasu library. Private libraries have also not lost their relevance. For example, the private collection of the Japanese scientist Hayashi Razan (1583 -1657) later became the core of the library of Tokyo Imperial University.
During the Meiji Restoration (1868-1912), life accelerated and the process of modernization proceeded by leaps and bounds. Japanese librarians such as Tanaka Fujimaro began to develop the network public libraries based on experience European countries, which they received during their travels. In 1872 the first modern public libraries were built in Kyoto and Tokyo. Laws were passed that determined the legal and economic basis to create libraries for informed citizens. Twenty years later, in 1892, the Japan Library Association was created. The first librarianship journal, Toshoran zasshi" was published in 1907. (photo by Tanaka Fujimaro)

Reign of Emperor Taisho (1912 - 1926) can be considered a library Renaissance. Hundreds of libraries were built at the local and regional level, thereby laying the foundation for modern library system. Unfortunately, like any rise, it could not continue indefinitely: the beginning of World War II served as an impetus for the closure of many libraries, since the financial priorities of the state were directed towards the military, and an independently thinking soldier is a potentially dangerous thing.
By 1990, Japan had approximately 44,700 libraries. including one national library (Japanese Diet Library). 1,600 public libraries, 900 university libraries, 2,200 specialized libraries and 40,000 school libraries.
One of the most conceptually designed libraries in the world is the Hiroshima Children's Library. Its appearance resembles a stylized atomic mushroom, under which an atmosphere of calm and peace reigns. These photographs were taken 10 years after the bombing. Adults thought about the future of children. Today this library has been dismantled. Perhaps the design was too radical and caused unpleasant associations. (photo of the Hiroshima library).




One of the library attractions in Japan are small bunkos (libraries). Like thousands of islands of reading, they are scattered throughout all prefectures, small and large settlements. These libraries are usually created on the initiative of area residents when the need for such a place arises. There is a certain ephemerality to them - it can be created in a few weeks in the corner of a room, in an empty supermarket, in a temple, but it can just as easily disappear.
Such bunkos are paid. They are not on the state’s balance sheet, but each user monthly pays a small amount for its maintenance, usually 1-2 dollars. “Bunko” is diverse: some work only one day a week, while others work seven days a week; they have at their disposal a collection of from 100 to 10,000 books. These libraries are very individual, each of them has its own personality, and you will never meet two libraries that are absolutely similar in both design and style of work.
The service and forms of work in the “bunko” are reminiscent of the children's departments of public libraries: lending books to people's homes, reading aloud, discussing what they read, puppet shows...Volunteer librarians usually work, 90% of whom are women. Most of these women are housewives or work part-time. Some bunko women are masters of the art of storytelling.
Research has shown that the very first bunko appeared in 1906, and was created by children's writer and librarian Kasui Takenuki. Bunko was opened at his home in Ayoma, Tokyo. (photo of a small bunko)




One of the most beautiful, cozy and spacious libraries in the world is the Akita International University Library, Japan. It was built in 2008 and its design is reminiscent of the Roman Colosseum. She has a few more distinctive features, making it unique: it operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year (only for students and teaching staff), for which in Japan it is called the “Waking Library”. However, any resident of Akita can visit this library, with the exception of nights, weekends and holidays. Second design. The structure is made of natural natural material Japanese cedar and appearance resembles a traditional Japanese umbrella. The light smell of cedar, which is invisibly present in the air, relaxes and puts a person in a calm mood. Teaching does not tolerate fuss.
The Akita Library organically combines ancient traditions and Hi-tech. Today its collections include about 75,000 books and more than 200 newspaper titles. Books in foreign languages ​​make up approximately 60 percent of the fund: this is useful both for foreign students, as well as for Japanese students themselves specializing in a language. (Akita Library photo)

P.S.
According to the testimony of A. Meshcheryakov, an excellent modern Japanese scholar, which he voiced at the meeting “Natural disasters and the formation Japanese character", in the technically advanced Land of the Rising Sun, paper books have by no means gone out of use, and modern readers have not become as widespread as in the countries of Europe and America. In his opinion, this happened because Japan has a different, deeper and more sacred attitude towards paper than ours. For a European, paper is a writing utensil, a book, and, at most, a means of hygiene. For the Japanese, these are the paper walls of the house, and clothes, and traditional partitions, and fans, as well as dozens and hundreds of other things and household items. The culture of communication with paper is immeasurably deeper and more ancient; it permeates the lives of generations of Japanese. And for them, giving up paper books is outside the cultural framework. On my own behalf, I would also add my thoughts: in Japanese etiquette, tactility fades into the background. Bows, gestures, closed ceremony of etiquette. In this case, paper in general and a paper book in particular acts as a kind of mediator between people, silent, correct and warm.

Korea
The land of morning freshness also has a long library history. The first royal library was founded by the ruler of the state of Silla, named Sin Mun in 682 AD.After the unification of Korea under the auspices of the Goryeo dynasty (918-1392), important preconditions for the growth of libraries were formed. National politics was aimed at increasing the royal library, and the national archive also began its work. Monastic libraries with Buddhist texts and private book collections also traditionally developed. Mongol invasions The 13th century AD gave rise to the practice of duplicating and rewriting texts so that books would be more preserved during foreign invasions.
Speaking about Korean libraries, it is impossible not to mention the “Tripitaka Koreana”, which is set out on 81,340 thousand wooden cliche boards, carved from 1236 to 1251 and preserved to this day in the Haeinsa Monastery. Each wooden sign is 70 centimeters wide and 24 centimeters long, with thicknesses ranging from 2.6 to 4 centimeters. The weight of one sign is from three to four kilograms. To prevent the boards from warping and rotting, they were subjected to special treatment: the logs were first kept in sea water for three years, then sawn into blocks, boiled in salt water and air-dried in the shade. The dried boards were planed and marked with text for cutting. They contain almost 52.4 million elegant hieroglyphs - instructions for monks, conversations with Buddha and commentaries on sutras. And although about 30 scribes participated in this work, all the hieroglyphs look as if they were written by one hand. (pictured is Haeinsa Temple and Tripitaka Koreana)

An important milestone in librarianship was the invention of a new Korean alphabet, Hangul, in l446. Sejong the Great, the ruler of the state of Goryeo, together with a group of scientists, presented a simple writing as a gift to his people, instead of complex ones. Chinese characters. The most famous and only surviving royal library of the Joseon Dynasty is Gye-Jang-Gag, founded in 1776. The logical structure of the library was represented by four broad sections: classic literature, history, philosophy and general knowledge. (photo library)


The prototype of modern public libraries were the libraries of the Japanese living in Korea at the beginning of the 20th century. However, after the Japanese colonized Korea in 1910, the development of public libraries slowed down. This was because restrictions were placed on the use of the Korean language and script. All publications in Korean were also banned, especially reference and scientific ones.
After the end of World War II, and after it Korean War 1953, the history of librarianship on the Korean Peninsula was divided, along political lines, along the 38th parallel. What is the situation with libraries in the Juche country is an open question. In any case, they are probably there. As for capitalist Korea, the information is publicly available. In order not to unnecessarily bore readers with the achievements of our Korean colleagues, let us turn to dry statistical figures and compare the indicators of 2001 and 2010. The number of public libraries increased from 436 to 746, school libraries - from 8,101 to 10,937. The number of small libraries has increased from 130 to 3,324! Libraries can be found on the streets, in the subway, in parks...everywhere!
For example, a library recently opened in Seoul that specializes in travel books and maps. On the ground floor there is a themed cafe, where visitors can go on a journey with the characters of their favorite book over a cup of something to their liking. On the second floor there is a secluded space for lovers of reading. One of the distinctive features of this library is the chairs that are different from each other, which symbolize cultural differences in different countries peace. Unfortunately, only Hyundai Card holders can use the services of this establishment. (travel library photo)






Small and cozy libraries, which have been set up different forms and sizes. Some of them do not even have staff; all service is based on a culture of reader honesty. These literature access points also have access to the country’s library databases, fortunately the speed and availability of the Internet in South Korea- one of the best in the world. Seoul City Hall plans to increase the number of libraries located in or near residential areas to 1,372 by 2030.(photo of small libraries)

This article, dear reader, presents only the most general information about history and current state library art in the above countries. The thousand-year-old world of libraries is inexhaustible, containing many secrets, mysteries and obvious clues for the future. We just looked at the covers of library volumes in China, Japan and Korea. The magazine "Library Science" 5, 2017 also brings to your attention an article about children's libraries in Japan.
You can write about your comments and wishes to:arslonga2@ mail. ru or to the Facebook page of Germantsev Stanislav. Links to sources are provided in the journal "Modern Library".

National Library China in Beijing May 18th, 2011

Three years ago, my friend and I were forced to visit the Lenin Library. We literally needed 4 books there, not too old. In general, nothing special. However, in the end, getting not four, but one book (and which, as it turned out, we didn’t need) took 6 hours of our most precious lives. It is impossible to imagine a more stupid, useless and merciless system for obtaining books. We have never heard of digitizing catalogues, much less books in our libraries. Each innovation, such an impression, requires such complex manipulations that it seems much easier to do nothing than to do at least something for the convenience of visitors. Overall, the visit left us perplexed about the uselessness of such a huge building filled with books.
Arriving in Beijing, I remembered this library story. I knew that the Chinese had built a new building for their state library. The desire to visit her was great, especially since I knew about free access there for any visitors, even if you don’t want to read or take anything there or if you don’t have any access cards or anything else.

The building was designed by the German bureau KSP Jürgen Engel Architekten. The main purpose of construction is to expand the library. The National Library already has two buildings very close by, and there is not enough space. To do this, they invited smart and knowledgeable people from the West and did not bother them with local regulations, the supposed lack of money, the supposedly useless use of internal space, but simply took it and let them design a building for people - beautiful, functional and very impressive.

The building is quite large - 77,000 square meters, holds 12 million books and is designed for 12,000 people per day

Side wing facades

and closer. The design is as follows - a steel frame is placed on an entirely glass wall, onto which, in turn, large and massive stone (at least in appearance) beams are attached. Excellent sun protection plus beauty

Special entrance for disabled people. It is slightly lower than the main one, which is 2 levels higher

Main entrance - above ground

Inside you are greeted by a huge glass wall overlooking the entire central space of the building - wildly beautiful.

To the left of the entrance is a staircase. The coolest thing about it is that it is entirely glass. Impressive solutions at every turn.

Only metal railings. Everything else is glass. It's just crazy

Just like the airport station, every detail is beautiful.

The staircase is illuminated through a skylight. The rest of the library space is the same. Simple, beautiful, convenient and ingenious.

The central volume is a shock again. How can we explain to our developers that atriums and huge spaces inside the building are cool? All that remains is to send them to Beijing to suck paws with their business centers and office plazas. Yes, it's expensive. Yes, it's difficult. But you have to do something for people, and not just for money?

The space is covered with huge farms. It's simple

By the way, the building is divided functionally into floors. Lower floors - books, manuscripts; here people pick up printed materials and sit and read them. At the top is a multimedia library, sit on your computer and see what you need, catalogues, books, ancient manuscripts - everything is on your computer.
So the architects wanted to show the close connection between the future, present and past. In China this connection is quite strong, traditional motifs are found in many areas of life, but most noticeably in architecture.

Side facade

I assume there must be water here, but something didn’t work out.

In general, the National Library of China says hello to Lenin. With a paper catalog the size of a football field and book delivery within half a day.

Photo reports

Professional trip to China “BIBLIOTUR2011”
Beijing Xi'an Nanjing Suzhou Hangzhou Shanghai (China), 5 March 17, 2011

In March of this year, five employees of the Russian State Library for Youth, together with their Moscow colleagues, at the initiative of Ukrainian librarians, took part in a professional trip to China “BIBLIOTUR2011”. The event was organized by the Ukrainian Library Association with the support of the Russian Library Association. The travel route ran through six cities: Beijing Xi'an Nanjing Suzhou Hangzhou Shanghai. The professional program included visits to four different types of libraries: the National Library of China (Beijing), the Main Library of Shanxi Province (Xi'an), the Library of the University of Science and Technology (Xi'an) and the Shanghai City Library.

During my eleven days of stay there were many impressions about both the country and the libraries, let’s try to highlight the main ones.

Libraries in China are modern multifunctional intellectual and cultural centers with unusual architecture, spacious, bright rooms and open access to funds. Huge buildings that command respect and admiration, sometimes with several buildings, are magnificent. The thought immediately comes to mind: “How knowledge and libraries are valued here!” The most comfortable conditions for productive work and relaxation have been created for employees and readers. Traditional paper media are intelligently combined with digital technologies. Chinese libraries are distinguished a large number of readers and the calm, unfussy work of a small staff. The support of the state and understanding of the importance of the library as an important public institution are felt throughout. In China, the prestige of education is high, and the library is perceived as an obligatory link in the system of education and training.

The National Library, the largest in Asia, contains 28 million books, its literature repository is Chinese ranks first in the world in terms of the number of publications. It's majestic architectural ensemble Beijing with an area of ​​more than 250 thousand square meters. m., located next to the beautiful Purple Bamboo Park. More than 5 million readers a year, 1012 thousand daily serve the 47 halls of the library. The library is open to the public 365 days a year, with online services available 24 hours a day through various means of communication.

In the administrative center of Shanxi province, the city of Xi'an, the main library (analogous to the Russian regional/territorial scientific library) is located in a beautiful elegant building with a total area of ​​more than 40 thousand square meters. m. and is designed for 2000 seats. Every day the library is visited by 67 thousand people (over 2 million per year), mostly young people. All services are free for registered users, with the exception of resource-intensive ones. The network of branches and library buses for remote areas of the province operates effectively.

The library of the University of Science and Technology in Xi'an, one of the five leading universities in China, is the dominant feature of the entire university complex. The university has four campuses, and also includes 9 schools, 23 departments, a special class for gifted students, an experimental class, etc. The library has a collection of more than 1.73 million books. A single computer network operates throughout the university; many library services are available in virtual mode around the clock.

The final destination of the stay was the city of Shanghai. Well-known at home and abroad Shanghai city ​​Library the largest in China at the level of provinces and central cities. After merging with the Shanghai Institute of Science and Technology Information in 1995, it became the country's first provincial-level bibliographic and information complex. Document collection 50 million items (including newspapers and magazines) are located on the 21st floor of the book depository. The waiting time for the requested publication takes only 1020 minutes thanks to the library’s high-tech equipment and staff efficiency. More than 10 thousand people, mostly young people, visit the library every day.

An excellent addition to the professional program were excursions to the Winter and Summer imperial palaces, the majestic Tian Tan Temple of Heaven, Soul Refuge Temple, Shanghai City History Museum, Terracotta Army Museum and Shanxi Provincial Museum. We managed to climb the Great Wall of China, climb the Oriental Pearl TV Tower and admire the skyscraper city of Shanghai from above, take a ride on unusual boats on the picturesque Xihu Lake and the Huangpu River. We also attended a circus performance and a historical show. Particularly impressive were the landscaped Chinese gardens, which harmoniously combine stones, water and lush vegetation.

The busy program of the stay provided an opportunity to get an idea of ​​the diverse cultural life of the Celestial Empire, the scale of the state’s plans to transform cities, build skyscrapers, and introduce the nation to the achievements of world culture. We are grateful to G.A. Saprykin, director of the State Library of Ukraine for Youth, who encouraged us to take this trip, which opened up to us a great, rapidly developing country, looking to the future in everything, including librarianship.

Marina Zakharenko,
Deputy Director for Professional and Public Relations of the Russian State Library for Youth

» Libraries in China

By the end of 2003, there were 2,709 public libraries in the country, containing a total of more than 430 million items. Among university libraries, the libraries of Beijing and Wuhan universities are the leaders in terms of book storage volumes. The country's library network covers libraries of the scientific research system, trade unions, institutions and collectives, the army, as well as libraries of secondary and primary schools, towns, businesses and street libraries.

The State Library, the largest in Asia, contains 25 million copies. books, its repository of literature in Chinese ranks first in the world in terms of the number of publications. State Library- a majestic architectural ensemble of Beijing, located next to the beautiful Purple Bamboo Park. More than 3,500 mammoth tusk plates with inscriptions, 1.6 million ancient bound books, over 1 thousand scrolls of Dunhuang frescoes are stored here, 12 million books in foreign languages ​​are collected here and there is a computer data repository, which is dynamically replenished and updated. Since 1916, the library has accepted for storage officially published books in the country. printed publications and is thus state book depository. Since 1987, it has accepted domestic electronic publications. The Central State Catalog of Books (ISSN) and the Information Center are located here computer networks. Currently, the State Library, together with other 90 libraries, is part of the union of digital publication libraries, jointly promoting the development and offering of digital services mass media in China. In April 2004, construction began on the second phase of the State Library, a digital information library, which is expected to become operational in October 2007. The library's expanded warehouse will meet book storage requirements for the next 30 years, thanks to the creation of a digital information library. The State Library will become the world's largest Chinese language digital information database and the most advanced network service base in the country.

Well-known at home and abroad, the Shanghai Library is the largest in China at the provincial and central city level. Its most valuable and unique property is the ancient literary heritage. This is more than 1.7 million books, of which 178 thousand volumes of 25 thousand titles are especially valuable rarities, many of them are preserved today in a single copy. The oldest book is almost 1500 years old.

Information for the section "Chinese Culture" was provided by the China Internet Information Center