Cloudy in Beijing Blogging about my time in China

Library

I got a library card today. Man that was a bitch.

Actually it only took five minutes to actually apply and get the card.

I just made a dumb assumption about how libraries work in China. Back in America, libraries are pretty chill. You can come in and look around at books and read them, even if you don't have their library card. This is not the case for the Chinese library I went to.

Today I had to go to the National Library of China in Beijing to look some things up for a story. The library is very big and prestigious. But unless you have a library card, you cannot even enter their reading rooms; a big sign at each entrance saying please swipe your card.

Upon discovering this, I tried to apply for a library card, but the person at the front desk said I needed my passport. As a result, I then had to go all the way back to my dorm room, grab my passport, and then come back. (Must of took me two and half hours.) A whole morning wasted. Sonuva...

When I finally received my card, I then got lost in the labyrinth that makes up the hallways of the library. (They seriously need to display a map of where all their collections are.) Then I encountered another peculiarity. At this library you don't go around in the stacks looking for the books yourself. Instead, you enter the reading room, and go to the front counter, where you tell the librarians what publication you're wanting to look at. Then they go get it, and give it to you.

I can only guess this is done for some sort of security reasons. But it does kind of seem like an unnecessary step in trying to find the book you want to read. Also makes it harder to just randomly browse through the collections. But whatever, I just wanted my books.

This was my first time using a library in China. It was not that great of experience. Its made me wonder if libraries are popular in China since not even my few Chinese friends have a library card. As for the library at my school, I can't use it unless I throw down a $130 deposit. I think it's to make sure that no one steals any of their books.