National Library of China
The Chinese national library’s new building has opened to the public, and it the world’s third largest in terms of floor space.
With the addition of the new building, the library’s total area reached 250,000 square meters, behind only the national libraries in France and the United States.
The new building in western Beijing, which is considered the second phase construction of the library, covers an area of 80,538 square meters, combining storage rooms, reading rooms, a display area for ancient books and a digital library.
It has 2,900 seats and a capacity to cater to 8,000 readers daily with about 600,000 books.
Readers can also use wireless access to Internet on their own laptops or use any of the 460 computers in the new building. Palmtop digital book readers are also available to access the 200-terabytes of digital resources.
It also planned to open a library channel with a cable TV company to put on programs of its lectures and exhibitions, as well as a short message service on library information.
Deputy head Chen Li said, ‘In the age of Internet, we are introducing new technologies into the “old” library work.’
Yes, but can you access the whole of the library through the Internet? Apparently not. When that happens it will truly be in the age of the Internet. Not before.
Source: China View