During my time in Beijing, I had a chance to visit National Library. If what I read is true, it is the largest library in Asia. Walking in and browsing the collection isn’t possible without registering for a reader’s card. This was made a little difficult when I was asked to write my name in Chinese. I wrote “ma long,” but then he said he wanted Chinese characters. Too bad I’m out of practice on my writing. Luckily I wasn’t there alone and got some help to write ?? properly. That’s my Chinese name.
I went to see the foreign language area. They have the last three years on the public stacks. It is more difficult to get older books, since you have to put a deposit on your reader’s card, fill out a form to request the book and wait 30 minutes for them to pull the book for you.
This was my first time to visit a library in mainland China and not surprisingly any books critical of the government are not available. There is a old building and new building. Later, I was able to visit the new building (opened 2008.09.09). It was the most modern library I’ve ever seen. In the newspaper area there were big screens where you can view newspapers digitally, dragging the page around with your finger. The main reading room was quite a sight with multiple floors; each lower floor smaller than the floor above it. The walls of the library are all glass, the tables are high quality wood.
The electronic catalog of books was interesting in itself. Once you look up a book, you can click to see more information on the location. This shows a floor plan of the library and a red line starting from the desk you are currently sitting at and ending at the shelf where the book is held. In addition, there is a picture showing which shelf you will find the book, for example, the third shelf from the bottom.
Outside, a new subway line is under construction, due to open in Fall 2009, giving direct access to this library.