Beijing National Library. National Library of China

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 of 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, online services are available 24 hours a day using various means communications.

In the administrative center of Shanxi province, the city of Xi'an, the main library (analogous to the Russian regional/regional 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, the Shanghai City Library is the largest in China at the provincial and central city levels. 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.

A great addition to professional program There were excursions to the Winter and Summer Imperial Palaces, the majestic Tian Tan Temple of Heaven, the Temple of the Refuge of the Soul, the Shanghai City History Museum, the Terracotta Army Museum and the 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 intensive program of stay provided an opportunity to get an idea of ​​the diverse cultural life Celestial Empire, about the scale of the state’s plans to transform cities, erect 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

National Library 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 the public. 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 Thushuguan (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.

Current state. The National Library of China is comprehensive scientific library, the national repository of publications, the national bibliographic center, the National Center for the Network of Library, Information and Science and Technology 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 24,110,000 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 located 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 NLC Ancient Book Library department. 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, 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 "National Library of China South Area" (NLC South Area), and the new building is called the "National Library of China North Area" (NLC North Area).

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 through various means of communication.

Liaoning Provincial Library is the largest library in Liaoning Province and one of the largest in the Northeast of China. Located in Shenyang, Nantha District. Liaoning Provincial Library is a government institution organized at the provincial level, a comprehensive public library.

History of creation. The history of the creation of the Liaoning Provincial Library dates back to the Library of the Northeast of the People's Republic of China, which was established in 1947. On August 15, 1948, it was opened in Harbin (Heilongjiang Province), and in February 1949 it moved to Shenyang.

In 1955, it changed its name to Liaoning Provincial Library. It was founded directly by order of the CCP leadership as a “large public library.” In 1989, it moved to a new building, the area of ​​buildings and structures is 33 thousand m2.

Current status and activities. Reconstruction began at the end of 1997, and on August 15, 1998 it officially opened to readers. Over the past 50 years, the library has continuously developed as a comprehensive public institution. The current collection contains more than 4 million volumes, in more than 10 languages.

Takes part in interlibrary exchange programs with 16 states and territories. The library contains ancient manuscripts (about 560 thousand), especially valuable publications from the Song and Yuan dynasties (more than a hundred volumes). Since the library is located in the Northeast of China, it presents a unique collection of Manchu documents dating back to the Qing dynasty.

The total number of service personnel is 260 people. Specialized departments of the library - Collection, Subscription and Editing Department, Acceptance and Issue Department, Rare Books and Manuscripts Department, Periodicals Department, Information and Consulting Department, Center electronic publications and Internet, Research Department, etc. The number of seats in the reading rooms is about 1100. In total, the library has 28 reading rooms and specialized classrooms. The number of visits per day is about 3000 person times.

Over the past few years, the work of the library team has been consistently recognized at the level of the party committee, the Liaoning provincial government and the leadership of various ministries and departments.

Digital library. Since 1997, the library began work on the creation of an electronic library, the creation of an internal network was completed, in addition, there is access to the Chinanet and the Internet, as well as electronic databases. There is an electronic reading room for periodicals. This makes part of the library's information materials available via the network. In addition, work continues to create our own book depository for the convenience of readers.

Interesting Facts. On the ground floor of the library there is an exhibition of furniture that previously belonged to Zhang Xueliang.

Siku quanshu. A complete collection of books in four sections - a large-scale publishing undertaking in Chinese history. Includes great amount Chinese texts, divided into four sections - “Classics” (Chinese literary canon), “History” (historical and geographical treatises), “Masters” (philosophy, art, science), “Collections” (anthologies of Chinese literature).

The initiator of the creation of the Qing imperial library is Qianlong, who in 1773 ordered 361 scholars to sort through “10,000 books” in Chinese in order to identify and destroy anti-Manchu texts, and include the remaining ones in his personal library. It was a project designed to surpass in scope the compilation of the legendary Yongle Encyclopedia.

When the work came to an end in 1782, the “Complete Books” consisted of 36,381 volumes, which is approximately 2,300 thousand pages and 800 million hieroglyphs. Qianlong commissioned 3,826 scribes to create four copies of the book collection for the imperial libraries in Forbidden City, Old Summer Palace, Mukden Palace, Mountain Refuge and three more - for public libraries in Hangzhou, Zhenjiang and Yangzhou. Above " Full meeting", a copy of the imperial encyclopedia of 1725 was made for each library.

Two copies of The Complete Collection were lost during the Taiping Rebellion, another was almost completely burned during the Second Opium War, and the remaining four were damaged during World War II. The most complete copy of Siku Quanshu is preserved in the Forbidden Palace. In 1980, photocopies of it were published in 1500 volumes (currently available on CD-ROM).

Shanghai Library is the second largest library in China (after the National Library in Beijing). It is located in Shanghai, in a 24-story building with a height of 106 meters. It is believed to be the tallest library building in the world. The building itself is shaped like a tower and looks like a giant lighthouse. The library is located on an area of ​​3.1 hectares, and the total area of ​​the buildings is 85 thousand m2.

Foundation history. The first library was built in Shanghai in 1847. The library received its first name from the Jesuit mission of Xu Jiahui. In 1925, the Chinese themselves opened the first library, the Shanghai Oriental Library. In 1950, the Board of the Committee on cultural heritage Shanghai has initiated a book collection campaign. Within a year, they managed to collect more than 200 thousand books. Many Chinese scholars made great contributions to the reconstruction of the Shanghai Library. The committee also began purchasing books abroad.

Reorganization. The first public municipal library was founded in Shanghai on June 22, 1952. The library's collections numbered more than 700 thousand books. In October 1956, the Shanghai Library was connected to the Shanghai municipal library Science and Technology, Shanghai Municipal Library historical documents and the Shanghai Periodical Library. Thus, Shanghai Library has become the second largest public library in China in terms of collections, services and professional expertise.

Current state. In October 1995, the Shanghai Library was connected to the Shanghai Institute of Science and Technology Information. It became the first library in China to integrate public resources and high tech(SciTech), allowing you to perform Scientific research in the information sphere.

Currently, Shanghai Library is the largest public library in China and one of the ten largest libraries in the world. It opened on December 20, 1996.

National Library of China (Chinese: 中国国家图书馆, English) National Library of China, NLC) was founded in 1909 year as the “Capital Teachers' Library” (Chinese: 京师图书馆) in agreement with the throne and government of the last Chinese 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 the public. 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 the People's Republic of China was proclaimed, the library's collections contained at least one and a half million documents.

Current status

The National Library of China is a comprehensive scientific library, a national publication repository, a national bibliography center, a National Library, Information Science and Technology Libraries Network Center, and a Development Center. The total area of ​​the library occupies 170,000 square meters, ranking fifth among the world's libraries. By the end of 2003, the library has a rich collection of 24,1100,000 volumes and is also ranked fifth among libraries in the world. The collection contains 270,000 volumes of rare books, 1,600,000 volumes of ancient books. The library not only has the largest collection of Chinese books in the world, but also the largest collection of foreign language materials in the country. The library is open to the public 365 days a year, and online services are available 24 hours a day through various means of communication. On September 9, 2008, the new building of the National Library of China was put into operation. 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.

» 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 a 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 joins 90 other libraries in the digital media library alliance, jointly promoting the development and offering of digital media services 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. Most ancient book almost 1500 years.

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

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 Qin Shi Huang’s empire 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 The first catalog of the 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, no more than 30,000 people currently live. 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 such stories, biographical facts are supplemented by romantic details of implicit eyewitnesses and distant descendants, but this does not make the fact any 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. Khoruji Castle in Nara Province is considered 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 a network of public libraries, focusing 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. It has several other distinctive features that make 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. 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 There was the invention in l446 of a new Korean alphabet - Hangeul. 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 distinctive features of this library are 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".