Why do we need libraries in the world? Author: Yang Suqiu Publisher: Shanghai Translation Publishing House

Introduction · · · · · ·
I am a literature teacher at Shaanxi University of Science and Technology. Sometimes I wonder: In addition to teaching, can I go out of campus and do something for the society? Once, I had the opportunity to work as a deputy director of the Culture, Tourism and Sports Bureau of Beilin District, Xi'an. Beilin District is the central urban area of ​​Xi'an, but there is no library, which surprised me. What surprised me even more was that the "Xi'an Beilin District Library Construction Project" that I was about to take over was to be built underground! The wall was damaged, the wires were exposed, and it looked terrible. There were only two people working there, me and the director Xiaoning.

Xiao Ning said that I was the one who would buy all the books. Booksellers sent me book lists one after another, but I found that I had to compile a list that was more suitable for readers in this area. Our library is small and there are few books, which is exactly the difficulty - if we buy the wrong books, a lot of them will be left unused.

Beilin District is a prosperous commercial area in the city center. Parents often bring their children to the area for shopping on weekends. The proportion of literary books and children's books should be increased. There is the largest stone tablet museum in the country nearby. What is exhibited is not paintings or utensils and jewelry, but "words". This place is only a few minutes' walk from our library. We should set up a special area for stone tablets and calligraphy, and buy a large number of them to make it a feature. We should set up a separate foreign children's book area. There are many foreigners working in Beilin District. If their children see stories in their mother tongue here, they must be very excited. There should also be a comics area. If this area is well done, these bookshelves may also become a gathering place for comic fans. Maybe they will be crowded with readers on weekends...

I asked friends from all walks of life to select 10,000 books. I never thought that a small bibliography would affect the interests of all parties, and a "bibliography defense war" kicked off...

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

【Editor's recommendation】

★This is a true story. Yang Suqiu, an associate professor at Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, worked in Xi'an Beilin District for one year and presided over the construction of Xi'an Beilin District Library. The soul of a library is the bibliography. In the process of determining the library bibliography, she encountered various unspoken rules and resistance from all sides. She overcame all difficulties and finally achieved the greatest balance between ideals and reality.

★This event received attention and coverage from CCTV News Weekly, Tencent Guyu Studio, and iQiyi, and Yang Suqiu was hailed as a "public book selector"