Chapter IV: Comprehensive Services
The characteristics and functions of the National Library of China are described to be transformed from "Treasury of Knowledge" to "Fountain of Knowledge". NLC is providing good services to the central government and the public in the following aspects:·
Priority Services to the Central Government: NLC provides priority services to departments of the central government, national legislative bodies, key research, educational and production institutions. NLC provides subject materials for CPC and central government leaders, answers reference questions from them and provides relevant information for national legislative bodies. During the annual plenary sessions of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, NLC provides reference services for members when they draft bills. In the library, there are some study rooms for priority readers.
Reading Services: NLC has 46 reading rooms for various kinds of readers. Among them there are 23 reading rooms with open stacks and 2.1 million volumes. NLC is open to the public 365 days a year, with an average of 13,600 readers and 70,000 circulated volumes/items every day.
Lending Services: NLC has six desks and rooms providing lending services, with about 2.44 million lending volumes every year. As of the end of 2003, NLC has issued more than 192,400 reader's cards. As the national center of interlibrary loan, NLC provides interlibrary loan services to 558 libraries in China and more than 550 libraries in 67 countries and regions.
Reference Services: In 1928, NLC established its first reference room, the earliest of its kind in China. Now, NLC has Social Sciences Reference Service, Sci.-Tech. Reference Service, Legal Information Reference Service, Abstracts and Indexes Reading Room, Information Service, Newspaper Clipping Center, Document Supply Center, etc., providing subject research, document delivery and photocopying services. NLC has also established the National Cooperation Network of Reference Services.
Information Networks and Electronic Services: NLC has two electronic reading rooms, the largest of its kind in China, connecting all major information networks in China and the Internet, and providing remote access services for users all around the world. NLC has databases and electronic publications in science and technology and social sciences, and is one of the largest information resources in China. With the Gigabit Ethernet library-wide network and an Internet service system open 24 hours a day throughout the year, NLC provides electronic information services, such as Internet Navigation, Full-Text Books Online and OPAC Access.
To undertake the function of social education and cultural exchange, the National Library of China holds various kinds of exhibitions and lectures in the humanities, social sciences, arts, sciences and technologies.
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Chapter V: Advanced Technologies
The National Library of China began its library automation in the middle 1970s, and began to use a mainframe integrated library management system in 1989 for the development and application of library automation. Since 1995, NLC has concentrated its resources on network construction, software development and data processing according to National Library of China Network Development Plan, 1997-2000.
With the advanced Gigabit Ethernet technology, the National Library of China began to use its library-wide network with 3000 nodes connecting all subsystems in the library in February 1999. By opening the National Library of China website, connecting the State Council, Peking University and Tsinghua University with 100 MB leased lines, connecting ChinaNet, CERNet (China Education and Research Network), CSTNet (China Science and Technology Network), Beijing Cable TV Network, the National Cable TV Network and CNC (China Netcom) with fast lines, NLC has become a center of network information resources.
In October 28, 2003, the integrated library management system Aleph500 began to be put into full use in the library, thus enabling it to become one of the advanced libraries in the world.
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Chapter VI: R & D and Human Resource Development
The National Library of China has a human-based human resource development policy to create a good environment for improving the quality of staff members and supporting young experts in their career development. In 1997, NLC drafted Human Resource Development Plan, 1997-2005 to train and recruit competent librarians for the future development of the library.
As a research center in library and information science, NLC is responsible for many research projects, among which 12 were awarded by the central government or relevant ministries, including Chinese Library Classification, Chinese Thesaurus and ?òA Study of Standards for Attributes of Chinese Characters?? winning first and second prizes of the National Award for the Advancement of Science and Technology. NLC compiled China MARC Format and other standards in library and information science. The Wenjin Integrated Library Management System developed by NLC staff members was used in NLC for acquisitions and cataloging of Chinese books and circulation desk, and is now widely used in about 100 other libraries in China. NLC is responsible for several projects related to digital libraries and has completed the Pilot Demonstration System of Digital Library, which is a basis of the project ?òChina National Digital Library??.
NLC holds conferences and seminars to introduce and study modern library management and applications of information technology. The already published three issues of Tong Ren Wen Xuan (Selected Papers of NLC Staff Members) reflect results of research and development by our staff members.
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Chapter VII: Training and Exchanges
With the function of professional training for Chinese librarians, especially those in public libraries, the National Library of China has a division in charge of education and training for staff members in NLC and librarians in other libraries, providing courses in librarianship, modern technologies, modern management, etc. NLC is also promoting standardization and networking of library services, promoting cooperation among libraries, research institutions and universities, and promoting resources sharing at national level. The National Library of China Publishing House (Beijing Library Press) has published more than 1,500 titles of monographs in library and information science and bibliographical studies, and is publishing Journal of the National Library of China (Quarterly), Documents (Quarterly) and Journal of Library Science in China (Bimonthly). The secretariat of the China Society for Library Science is located in the National Library of China.
NLC is an important cultural institution of our country, fulfilling cultural agreements on behalf of our government, receiving visiting heads and delegations of foreign governments, promoting exchange and cooperation with libraries and cultural institutions all around the world and taking part in academic activities of international organizations. We have publication exchange relationship with more than 1,000 libraries and academic institutions in more than 120 countries and regions. With ISSNChinaCenter in the library, we take part in international information exchange and resources sharing of bibliographical records of serials. We have cooperative partners in Australia, Singapore, Japan, Republic of Korea, USA and other countries for staff exchange, technical exchange, resources sharing and exhibitions.
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Chapter VIII: New Technologies and Advanced Culture
With the wider application of computer and network technologies, the National Library of China actively introduces high and new technologies to become a modernized library, a national knowledge base and an information center.
Digital library is an important component part in national information infrastructure and national knowledge innovation system in many countries in the world, and is becoming an important area for financial resources. The development of digital libraries in the world indicates that national libraries should become the cores of the development of digital libraries in their countries. Since 1995, NLC has been keeping track of the latest development of digital libraries in the world. In 1998, the Ministry of Culture approved the project “China National Digital Library” of our library. By now, we have already built a sizable amount of digital resources and provided some of them for public access. In November 2001, the State Council officially approved “National Library of China Phase II & National Digital Library of China Project”, which is an important component of the national information infrastructure and is a part of the Tenth Five-Year Plan of the country. With a budget of 1.235 billion RMB yuan and a total floor space of 77,687 square meters, it has already begun to be implemented.
Since 2002, NLC has been responsible for three key national cultural projects: National Cultural Information Resources Sharing Project, Chinese Rare Book Facsimile Reprint Project and Rural Area Book Distribution Project. Thus, NLC plays a more important role in the development of advanced culture and distribution of knowledge.
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Chapter IX: Services in the New Century
Mao Zedong had the No. 1 library card of the National Library of China; Zhou Enlai approved the construction of the new building; Deng Xiaoping wrote the calligraphy for the name of the library; and President Jiang Zemin visited the library on December 22, 1998, and called on the Chinese people to study hard. These historic events reflect the special attention of the three generations of central government leaders to Chinese librarianship. We are sure that Chinese librarianship will develop rapidly in the 21st century, and the National Library of China will have a bright future.
In the history of China, every social progress gives impetus to the development of librarianship. At the turn of the century, with the coming knowledge economy and implementation of the strategy “Developing China with science, technology and education”, there will be a better environment for the development of Chinese librarianship.
Under the impact of social and economic development, library, or “treasury of knowledge”, will realize the digitization of document resources and the networkization of service patterns. This is not only a revolution in information industry, but also a new stage of the development of librarianship. Digital library will become the direction of the development of future library.
Development of digital libraries will enable the brilliant Chinese culture and all achievements of human beings to become common wealth of the mankind, and the National Library of China will become a real “library without walls”.
Afterword
With the history of 95 years, rapid development in the last 55 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, reform and modernization in the last 25 years, the National Library of China is ready to meet new challenges and make greater contributions.
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