“Books are the main vehicle of human civilization. Reading not only enhances national innovative skill but also strengthens social moral power”, said Premier Li Keqiang on the press conference in the 12th National People’s Congress on March 15th, 2015. This year “Nationwide Reading” has been written into the Report on the Work of the Government. In response to this call, Wuhan University has taken a series of active measures to promote reading on campus.
As “Nationwide Reading” appeals diverse types of thematic reading activities to be held and public reading service system to be constructed and improved, this year from April to May, Wuhan University Library has made some adjustments to its lending policy and highlighted the traditional Reading Festival.
New Lending Policy
On April 22nd, 2015, Wuhan University Library declared some adjustments on the old lending policy: The numbers of books that undergraduates, graduates, doctoral students and faculties can borrow has increased from 5, 10 and 15 respectively to 30, equally. Undergraduates’ renewal times has increased from one to two times per book. And one book can be kept for 90 days at most now.
Opinions vary at the launching of the new policy. Some students are supportive for they can now keep the books, especially the reference ones, for more than half a semester, while some other students are worried that the library might be removed to vacancy，and some think it is unnecessary to borrow too many books at one time.
In fact, the new policy has gone through a scientific process. The library has done systematic research work before the adjustments, which includes investigating with questionnaires, referring to the lending policies of other prestigious universities and communicating with authorities in this field, etc. Results have shown that most people are approved of the adjustment. In addition, to prevent students from cornering books, the library stipulates that a book can not be renewed if it has been booked by another student.
Lai Jiabin is one of the top ten Reading Stars who borrowed hundreds of books last year. He gave us his opinions. “Undergraduates can borrow 30 books nowadays equal with those available for masters and doctors. This can be viewed as equal resource sharing that will encourage undergraduates to read.”
Sun Zhenyu, a student from the School of Economics and Management, gave us his further suggestion: “I do hope the lending time can be prolonged, two months better, for it is still very troublesome to renew after 30 days.”
Reading Festival
On April 22nd, the opening ceremony of Wuhan University's 2015 Reading Festival was held in the conference hall of Wuhan University Library. Vice-Chair of the University Council Wang Chuanzhong and more than 300 people attended the ceremony.
Wuhan University's Reading Festival was first held in 2013. Each year it lasts two months from April to May, during which a series of colorful events are held to promote new library resources and services, encourage people to enter the library and create a strong reading atmosphere on campus. This year's festival consists of more than 20 activities, including cultural celebrities' lectures, thematic exhibitions, essay competitions and so on.
"Reading Star Appraisal" is a classic module of the Reading Festival. Each year the library awards 10 individuals and schools the honorary title of “Reading Star” based on the annual book loan quantity. Every year the books recommended by the “Reading Stars” become popular among students. This year Wei Dongmin, a student from the School of Physics and Technology ranked first in the ten “Reading Stars” with a borrowing record of 428 books in 2014. Wei’s reading interest covers a variety of fields from his own major to humanities, economics and psychology. “No matter how busy I am, I would like to spare three to four hours to read every day. Reading has become a habit imprinted deep in my soul.” Wei said.
Wei’s passion for reading is merely one facet of the cultural atmosphere at Wuhan University. This year’s appraisal showed that the annual per capita book loan quantity of the School of Chinese Language and Literature in 2014 reached as high as 20.95. In faculty of sciences, the loan quantity of School of Physics and Technology also reached 9.12.
Besides the “Reading Star Appraisal”, there are several brand-new highlights in this year’s Reading Festival. In order to encourage and facilitate reading and borrowing in the library, Wuhan University Library launched an official public account on Wechat on April 20th. Wechat is one of the largest and trendiest messaging apps nowadays in China, whose users could acquire information service by subscribing public accounts. On the homepage of Wuhan University Library’s public account, subscribers could register with their student ID to view their borrowing records and give renewal requests. They could also receive up-to-date notice on new library resources, policies and events, as well as getting easy access to the enormous electronic newspaper and magazine collections. Moreover, the library pushes feeds on online public courses and books recommendation to the subscribers regularly.
Most interestingly, during the 2015 Reading Festival, Wuhan University Library released an online game called “Rescuing Little Bu and the Stolen Classics” on April 22nd to arouse public interests. The game is set on a background that a group of naughty elves sneaked into Wuhan University Library, stealing many plots and chapters of the classics. Only when players recall and complete those stolen extracts will the classics be restored, so players need to answer multiple choice questions on classical literature and contemporary works from China and abroad to rescue these books. Up to now students from over 40 colleges, both graduate and undergraduate, have participated in this game, the best of whom finished all 40 questions correctly in only 101 seconds. Creating a game young people love reduced the distance between students and classics.
“Nationwide Reading” is of great importance to our nation’s future. Wuhan University has answered the call with actions and set a good example for the others. Through the new lending policy and the Reading Festival, students are encouraged to read more, think more and contribute more. The good spirit of reading will be passed on in the campus.
(Edited by Yue Rao, Diana & Sijia Hu)
