Introduction
Introduction to Central China Normal University Library
Central
China Normal University Library
is the library of the key comprehensive normal university affiliated to China’s Ministry of Education. The history of the library can be traced back to Boone College Library established in 1903 and the Boone Library in 1910. In 1951, libraries of Huazhong University, Zhonghua University and the Education College of Zhongyuan University were merged into the unified Huazhong Normal Academy Library, which was renamed Huazhong Normal College Library in 1953, and eventually Central China Normal University Library in 1985. This library, after over a century’s development, has already become the document resource center for all the teaching and research activities in Central China Normal University, ranking among the best in terms of scale and collection of all university libraries in Hubei Province.
Central China Normal University Library, with a total of 39,357 square meters of space, is composed of the Main Library (the New Library) and the Old Library. The Old Library, founded in 1961, occupies 9,000 square meters. The New Library, completed in 2010, covers an area of 30, 357 square meters with nine floors above ground and one underground. The two libraries are connected by an underground cultural corridor.
The New Library serves as a document resource center as well as an independent study center, integrating lending, reading, collecting, learning and researching. Run with the mechanism of “effective circulation, convenient reading, professional consultation, excellent service” and “One Card” system, the new library is characterized as intellectual, digital and distinctive, emphasizing not only the construction of study space, but also the promotion of informationization. The new library is equipped with two 985 platform projects -- Center for the teacher’s educational resource and Center for humanity art education. The former, supported by the digital information resources and taking digital service as the main form, successfully realizes the unity of the normal universities" resource vantage and the sharing of modernized information. The latter is responsible for the demonstration to all teachers and students the humanistic education and the humanity art, which upgrades the cultural aspects of our university while pioneering a new way for university libraries to participate in the school’s humanistic education at the same time.
Up till now,the libraryhas a collection of 2,490,000 printed volumes (bound periodicals included), 1,040,000 e-books and e-magazines, 37 Chinese databases, 43 foreign databases and 4 self-built characteristic databases, namely, Huada Collected Works, Guizi Faculty and Alumni Works, the Database of Dissertations and Thesesof our graduates and the Database of ChineseRural Studies. By 1991, the collections on Modern Chinese History, Modern Chinese Language, Granule Physics and other 7 subjects has achieved the research level according to the provincial appraisal. Moreover, the library holds 111,779 volumes of thread-bound ancient books of 9,105 kinds, including 3,511 volumes of 455 rare-book categories-- that of Ming Dynasty, especially, 1,777 volumes of 105 kinds, among which theComment and Explanation of the Book of Changeswritten by He Kai in the Ming Dynasty and the first four volumes of theInterpretation of the Book of Changeswritten by Pu Longyuan in the Qing Dynasty are the only editions all over the country. In addition, our library was approved as the National Key Protection Unit of Ancient Books, which creates a new platform for the development of the library.
Armed with a variety of modern means and facilities, the library provides convenient services. Apart from the usual borrowing service, it also provides services of multi-type and multi-layer, such as document retrieval, sci-tech novelty retrieval, checking service, readers’ instruction, interlibrary loan transaction, document delivery, etc. At the same time, the library actively takes part in foreign exchange and cooperation. And now we have got the membership of China Academic Library and Information System (CALIS), and of China Academic Humanities and Social Sciences Library (CASHL), authorized to deliver documents. We alsomake contributions tothe second-phase construction of China Academic Digital Associative Library (CADAL). What’s more, the library has established the data exchange network with many inland university libraries, as well as 18 university libraries in countries and regions as the US, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, etc.
The charm of CCNU library lies in its huge collection, excellent service and warm-hearted staff. For many years, the library staff have exerted thoroughly the library motto “United, Down-to-earth, Pioneering, Devoted”. Taking “Readers first, service above all” as the ultimate objective, we have built a fine library culture and a harmonious environment, and provided information support of high quality, efficiency and speed for all the teachers and students.
With a glorious history, we are looking forward to opening a splendid new chapter. Taking the “Five-C Harmonious Culture” (Compassion, Concentration, Conscience, Confidence and Comfort) as the guidance, Central China Normal University Library will further perfect the document resource construction and management, thus building the library into a modernized one characterized by modernity, service and humanity.
