On March 9, 2005, an article entitled "Is it a library or a collection of books?" appeared on the academic criticism network. -The story of the ancient books department of Suzhou Library. This nearly 10,000-word article tells the author's frustration in borrowing a precious ancient book in Suzhou Library. At the end of the article, the author Qi Yongxiang issued a series of strong questions:
"Ancient books and cultural relics collection units often set up various obstacles so that readers can't see what they want to see. Is this reasonable? Is it legal or not? Is it infringement? What rights do we have as readers? How to maintain our?
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This net article was immediately posted on the "idle reading talk" of Tianya community, a famous forum. In a few days, the post about this matter has thousands of hits and 300 to 400 posts. Everyone expressed great concern about the "trivial matter" that Peking University scholars were refused to borrow ancient books. Netizens used this matter to defend, question, abuse and splash sewage. For a long time, everyone's dissatisfaction and subtle attitude towards the library seems to have found an outlet here.
who is it? Who is right and who is wrong? The reporter interviewed Mr. Qi Yongxiang, an associate professor of the Ancient Books Department of Suzhou Library and the Institute of Ancient Books of the Chinese Department of Peking University, seeking relevant people to interpret this matter.
Right or wrong is not the key. The important thing is, after all the uproar and arguments, can we get enlightenment from this incident, and is it conducive to the system improvement of public service institutions such as libraries?
Qi Yongxiang: "I am aiming at the problems existing in the whole library industry."
Qi Yongxiang's statement on this matter is mainly reflected in his online articles. The general idea is as follows:
Qi Yongxiang has been engaged in the research on the inheritance and annotation of sinologists in Qing Dynasty for eight years. In September last year, he learned that Zeng Wenyu, a native of Xinhui, Guangdong Province, compiled eight volumes of Inheritance of Sinologists in the Guo Dynasty and the General Catalogue of Confucian Classics in the Guo Dynasty 1 volume, and the four volumes of the whole book were kept in Suzhou Library. Before going to Tu Su, Qi Yongxiang called the Tu Su Ancient Books Department, briefly explained that he was currently studying the history of sinologists and its sequel, and expressed his desire to copy or transcribe the whole book and take some photos. Sun Zhongwang, head of Yamamoto's department, answered the phone. He said that the library has strict regulations on rare books, especially those like Zeng's, that is, it is not allowed to take photos, copy or copy, and cooperation needs the approval of the curator. Because the curator was away, Qi Yongxiang called again after the National Day. Sun Zhongwang said that the curator already knew, but he was still not allowed to copy the whole book. Qi Yongxiang hung up the phone.
Shortly thereafter, Qi Yongxiang met a respected old professor in a university in the south, and the old professor promised to help him contact and make things clear. Later, the leader of a university in Suzhou also offered to help. About a month later, news came from both sides that you can read books and take one or two photos, but all copies or transcripts are still resolutely not allowed. After the Spring Festival, Qi Yongxiang wrote another letter to Suzhou Library, saying that he was really a scholar who studied the subject deeply and hoped to get Zeng Wenyu's books collected by the library. Finally, he expressed his willingness to copy only part of it, the rest or all of it, and he was willing to pay according to the regulations. The letter also said that the National Library, the Shanghai Library and the Peking University Library had promised to let them copy the orphan books. Two weeks later, he received a reply from Sun Zhongwang, which also euphemistically stated: "According to the regulations of our library, sinologists can't completely copy or copy the continued records. All this is to better protect rare books and has no economic purpose. "
Qi Yongxiang felt very hurt. So, he wrote a long article on the Internet, questioning: "I have always been curious, why did Tu Su refuse a scholar who was so arrogant and eager to copy a manuscript from their library for research?" He published his e-mail address and expressed his willingness to discuss this topic with you.
By email, the reporter contacted Qi Yongxiang. Qi Yongxiang was very busy, but he wrote back soon. He is disappointed that netizens only pay attention to analyzing his style of writing without discussing the system of the library, because he is aiming at the problems existing in the whole library community.
Unfortunately, after sending three or four emails, Qi Yongxiang still insisted on not telling reporters the phone number and not accepting interviews. At the same time, the reporter found Mr. Qi's office phone number and home phone number through other channels, but he never got through after four days of calling. After the reporter wrote many letters and attached an interview outline, Qi Yongxiang said politely that he was currently busy with the publication of the book and wanted to temporarily withdraw from the matter and not respond.
Director of Suzhou Library: "Even if Qi Yongxiang comes to Tu Su tomorrow, we are still welcome."
Sun Zhongwang of Suzhou Library, one of the parties, is very convenient to contact. He told reporters that no one has looked for him on this matter yet, and Qi Yongxiang did not say hello when he published this net article. He didn't know until he received a letter from his friend. "I feel very wronged when I see this net article. I think respect is mutual. " Qiu, director of the Tu Su, also said that the Department of Ancient Books has its own regulations, and he trusted and agreed that it should be handled by professionals.
Sun Zhongwang believes that this incident is very simple, and Qi Yongxiang complicated it. The crux of the problem is that the library system does not allow all the orphan books to be copied. Qi Yongxiang asked for an exception and hoped to make all copies.
Sun Zhongwang expressed his feelings about online articles: "Mr. Qi is very angry about publishing this long article online, but his purpose is not clear: if he thinks my service attitude is not good, then he should complain to my superior department; If he thinks there is something wrong with the library system, he should complain to the higher authorities or trade associations. This is a rational attitude. But Qi Yongxiang magnified this matter. I think scholars also need to establish a sense of system. Even if they are not satisfied, they'd better complain through legal channels. We should not emphasize making an exception for him. " In particular, he pointed out that it is unreasonable for Qi Yongxiang to hope that Suzhou Library can finish the book as soon as possible for his own academic research needs. "Because we have our work plan, it is impossible to publish a book because of the needs of a reader and disrupt the work plan." He said this.
Qi Yongxiang mentioned in his article that because of this incident, Tu Su has been on high alert to him. However, Sun Zhongwang categorically denied this speculation: "I didn't promise to let him copy all the orphan books, which has nothing to do with his attitude, but our system. As long as Mr. Qi comes to study, we are still welcome to do things according to the rules. " He said that Tu Su has 1.5 million readers every year, and there are more than 4,000 readers every day. They have different attitudes and make a lot of phone calls. They generally don't remember a reader's consultation phone number, and they don't let him read it just because a reader calls.
Sun Zhongwang said that in the past six months, Qi Yongxiang only made two phone calls and sent a letter. In fact, as long as Qi Yongxiang comes in person, he will find it convenient to read rare books, and some of them can be copied. For example, there is a book "Yijinjing". A worker holds a reader card and says that he is studying, so we will show it to him. However, due to the lack of material conditions of constant temperature and humidity, the preservation conditions of rare books in Tu Su are very limited, and only copying can be restricted.
"According to the library regulations, all rare books are not allowed to be copied or copied in full." The Tu Su Library Regulations are formulated with reference to the Beijing Library and the Shanghai Library under the National Library Work Regulations. The Regulations on Library Work also points out that each library can formulate corresponding management regulations according to its own actual situation. There are book management methods all over the country, and the management of rare books is universal in all libraries, with the restriction of copying and recording all. Curator Qiu thinks it should be regarded as a loose management in the library. "We stipulate that the copying of rare books should not exceed 1/3, and some libraries even stipulate that the copying should not exceed 5% and 10%."
And is this system that restricts readers from borrowing books reasonable? Sun Zhongwang, a master of local philology, said that orphan books are cultural relics and state-owned property. The borrowing and copying of orphan books involve ownership and copyright issues, which need the approval of relevant state departments. Therefore, everyone is very cautious about the development cooperation of orphan books. We can copy some rare books, but not all of them, otherwise the copyright of rare books can't be protected. Curator Qiu also told reporters that the copyright scope of ancient books is not only the content, but also the version, including proofreading.
Public libraries are also public property, and readers are not welcome without libraries. Sun Zhongwang believes that the ownership of books belongs to the state and the right to use them belongs to the library. At present, there are still contradictions between the protection and development of rare books in public libraries, and the development should be carried out under the condition of protection. At present, due to the lack of material conditions such as constant temperature and humidity, the development has to be reduced. Orphaned books are cultural relics. If you don't protect it properly, it will be destroyed. Qiu said that it cannot be said that "the property of the country belongs to the people, and I am the people, so I own the copyright of this book. Similarly, because the library is a public service department, we must meet everyone's requirements unconditionally. This is very similar to a museum. The cultural relics in the museum can't be touched. You can't make demands just because you are a taxpayer. Sometimes satisfying individuals may harm the interests of others, and service organizations can only satisfy most people. "
Lacquer article questioned why Tu Su could "provide more than 100 volumes for the large-scale ancient books collation projects such as The Continuation of Si Ku Quan Shu and Si Ku Quan Shu" without giving convenience to a scholar. In this regard, Qiu explained: "Now, the Ministry of Culture of China is implementing a rare edition reconstruction project, and we are also cooperating. When the publishing house comes to contact us, it must have an official letter from the Ministry of Culture before we can transfer books. This is a national cultural project, 100 many libraries are cooperating, not just us. After these rare books have been reproduced by photocopying and other means, they will no longer be out of the museum. "
"It's a pity that new laws and regulations have not yet come out. We also hope to introduce a national library law, so that our work will have a direct basis." Sun Zhongwang said this.
During the network communication of the "Tu Su Incident", Tu Su was always absent. Tu Su said: It is an irresponsible attitude for the academic criticism network to publish articles without verification. I don't fight back because I didn't do anything wrong, and I don't need to clarify, let alone scold.
Original abstract
Is it a "library" or a "library"
The story happened in the ancient books department of Suzhou Library.
According to the modern explanation, the library is an institution that collects, sorts out and collects all kinds of books, periodicals and audio-visual products for readers to read. However, some libraries in China still haven't got rid of the bad habits of some private libraries in ancient times, and regard their collections, especially precious ancient books, as their own private things, setting obstacles to make it difficult for readers to read and become real "libraries". The author's half-year experience in the ancient books department of Suzhou Library is a typical example.
……
Suzhou Library is a national public library, and they have no right to refuse me to copy books. Copying books is an extremely important part in the history of book communication in China, and many classics are left by passing money. In the past, booksellers had good books at hand, but scholars could not afford them, but they could borrow them, copy them and even inscribe them. After the Qing Dynasty revised the Sikuquanshu, Emperor Qianlong ordered the paper money to be divided into several parts and collected in various places, especially in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces in the south. Specially ordered the books in Jiangnan to be collected for those who are poor to read in the library (because there was no copying technology at that time). Mr. Sun Zhongwang is not ignorant of these stories of the forest of books through the ages, but his practice is not as good as that of an ancient bookseller. Isn't it strange that Mr. Sun can browse these rare books at will while strictly forbidding readers to copy and copy them? Even if there is a so-called "regulation", we think it can only be a real "overlord clause"!
……
In American libraries, China's ancient books can be read by any reader on the shelves. If their library doesn't have it, the library will spend money to borrow the books you want to read through interlibrary loan. They think that readers want to read it but the library doesn't, which is detrimental to the dignity of the library. I have also searched through these precious ancient books, including the Central Library of Taiwan Province Province, the Fu Sinian Library of Academia Sinica, the Shirley Library, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and even reprinted or copied them in some libraries, among which there are many rare books of Song Yuanzhen. The staff always find the book you want quickly and then leave with a smile. When you propose to copy a part, you can always get the copy you want quickly without paying a high copy fee. In these libraries, I really feel my dignity as a reader.
……
I think in China, anyone who has dealt with ancient books collection units has seen such collection units as the Ancient Books Department of Suzhou Library to some extent. Whether you are a venerable old professor or a young man with a childlike innocence, whether you ride a car, ride a bike or walk, whether you are far away from Wan Li or close at hand, whether you are a billionaire or penniless, when we take a lot of things with us, we just need to bring our household registration book or engrave words on our faces, and then go to some places, will they show it to me? Can I read the original? How much can I see? Can I copy it? Can I copy it? Will you charge me a sky-high so-called "background fee"? We always go trembling and often come back empty-handed.
I don't know when we can go to libraries all over the world safely, without any worries and corners, consult, copy and copy the ancient books we need, and get our due rights, respect and dignity!
Author: Qi Yongxiang
Editor's Note: The original text is nearly 10,000 words, and this newspaper excerpts part of the author's statement. For the full text, please refer to the "Gossip" version of Academic Criticism Network or Tianya Forum (www.tianyaclub.com).
Insiders: "If someone can copy and publish, we will be very happy."
Lin Zixiong, Director of Special Collection Department of Zhongshan Library, Guangdong Province
We have always been very strict about the protection of ancient books, and we need a letter of introduction from the company and my ID card to borrow them. If we borrow rare books, we need a proof to show my research direction.
Because rare books are precious, they are generally woodcuts before 1795 and manuscripts before the Republic of China. We think this regulation is necessary to protect these precious cultural relics. In fact, the management of our library is still relatively loose, and there are often some college students who can borrow ancient books to write papers with certificates.
According to the unified regulations of the state, rare books cannot be copied, because they are afraid of being heated and need protection. But we don't have rules about copying. After all, there are very few people who secretly copy everything, so we don't think it is necessary to take precautions. There are 400,000 ancient books in our collection, about 30,000 kinds, but the publication of ancient books is relatively unpopular, and there are not many that can really be published. For example, an ancient book research teacher of South China Normal University told us that he came up with a rare book of Linghai, which was printed by Qian Yi in the Qing Dynasty, but because he couldn't copy it, he came to Zhongshan Library from school to copy it every day, and copied it page by page with carbon paper. In the preface of the book, he said that the book was collected by our library and mentioned the process of copying. We think it is a good thing that more than one book has been published in this way.
We still pay more attention to the protection of rare books. In Zhongshan Library, rare book stacks are the only air-conditioned stacks, which are fireproof and burglarproof. Moreover, the fire prevention devices of other stacks are all water fire extinguishing, while the fire prevention devices of rare books are all gas fire extinguishing. The climate in the south is very humid, so we use camphor wood cabinets to hold rare books and put insect repellent on them at the same time. In addition, we have some rules, for example, we can only use pencils when reading books, but we can't use signature pens, ballpoint pens and pens to prevent books from getting dirty.
Nowadays, a large number of ancient books are photocopied and published. If there are no photocopies, we are also happy to lend rare books to readers. Moreover, Zhongshan Library has always maintained the principle of reading rare books without charge.
Generally speaking, books are for storage, and it is better not to hide them. We welcome readers to read here. As for the management of rare books, I think speeding up the photocopying and publishing of these ancient books is also a contribution to the preservation of rare books.
Experts dispel doubts
Luo Wei, a professor in the Department of Information Science, School of Information Management, Sun Yat-sen University, and the author of Guangdong Literature Review, was awarded the "Outstanding Contribution Award" by Guangdong Library Society in 2002, and made outstanding achievements in the field of library and information science.
Question 1: What is a rare edition?
Rare books refer to books published before Qianlong. Among them, books with excellent engraving and less circulation are precious and rare. Among them, there is only one orphan in China and only one orphan in the world. These books are usually restored and photographed.
Rare books are only available in provincial and municipal libraries, comprehensive universities or specialized university libraries. Ancient books are all handmade paper, and the pH value is different from that of current machine books. In fact, the preservation time of handmade paper is longer than that of machine paper: the preservation time of machine paper will not exceed 100 years. However, there are also problems in the preservation of ancient paper. Wet weather in the south and sandstorms in the north will hurt the book itself. As far as I know, 50% of the ancient books in Sun Yat-sen University Library and Sun Yat-sen Library are moth-eaten and moldy.
Question 2: What are the national regulations on the preservation and borrowing of rare books?
Rare books are always between preservation and use. In ancient times, books were kept secret, such as Tianyi Pavilion in Ningbo. This system has been affecting modern libraries.
Now the state stipulates that all good books and revolutionary documents, as well as some old newspapers before liberation; The country is listed as a key protection object, and all of them are photos, and generally no longer provide readers with originals. Last year, the state put forward the reconstruction project of rare books (mainly for books in Song and Yuan Dynasties). With a copy, the original book is no longer used.
The borrowing situation of rare books in each library is different. Big libraries such as Beijing Library and Shanghai Library are more strict, stipulating that readers can only take notes with pencils, not pens and ballpoint pens, not allowed to bring water and drinks, not allowed to smoke, not allowed to open the pages to drool ... It costs money to borrow rare books in big libraries such as Beijing and Shanghai. At present, CUHK Library and Zhongshan Library do not charge money.
Question 3: Is it allowed or not allowed to copy rare books? What about copyright?
Transcription generally requires no more than 1/3, which is stipulated by the Ministry of Culture to protect copyright. At the same time, it is not allowed to copy rare books completely, only a certain proportion can be copied.
Some ancient books need to be sorted out and published, and there is a special ancient books sorting committee to incorporate them into the national ancient books sorting plan, rather than individual behavior. There is a contradiction between the storage and use of the library. In fact, books are collected for use, and the function of a library is to serve readers. In practice, the system of each library is different, some emphasize the storage and neglect the use, and some emphasize the storage and neglect the use. In my opinion, if it is an ordinary ancient book rather than an isolated one or a high-grade rare one (also graded), it should be sorted by professional scholars; If it is an orphan, it involves cultural relics protection and copyright issues, and it should be developed and published with the permission of the relevant state departments.
Regulations on the work of libraries in provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities)
(Ministry of Culture 1 982 65438+February1)
Attachment: Relevant regulations
Sixth books and periodicals collected by the provincial library belong to the state property and are protected by law. No one is allowed to occupy it, and no other unit is allowed to transfer it at will.
Article 7 All the work of the provincial library is to meet the reasonable demand of readers for books and periodicals to the greatest extent. It is necessary to strengthen the service for readers, be civilized and polite, and constantly improve the efficiency and quality of service.
Eighth provincial libraries should determine the scope of book borrowing according to different service objects. Except in accordance with the provisions of the central and national publishing authorities, some books and periodicals may not be borrowed publicly, and other standards are not allowed to be set up to seal books and periodicals at will.
Rare books, rare books and periodicals that are not suitable for lending are only provided in the library, and copies can be provided to domestic readers with approval when necessary.
Twenty-ninth provincial libraries shall, in accordance with the spirit of these regulations, formulate rules and regulations for library work.
Thirtieth these regulations are also applicable to other large public libraries with more than one million books in principle.
The Southern Song Dynasty books Zhen Jing (I) and Wenyuan Huaying (II) collected by the Institute of History and Language, Academia Sinica, Taiwan Province are unique at home and abroad, and are especially valued by scholars. In order to properly preserve these precious ancient books, the library uses CDs to store the contents of rare books. On the one hand, it can reduce the damage of books due to browsing, thus prolonging the life; On the other hand, it can provide readers with more convenient and quick retrieval and use. The library hopes to spread information more widely through the Internet in the future.
Reporter's notes
Let rare books really come in handy
Tianyi Pavilion in Ningbo is the earliest existing private library in China, which was founded in Jiajing forty years in Ming Dynasty. In order to protect the collection of books, Fan Qin has formulated strict clan rules, stipulating that "books will not be kept out of the library for generations". However, this rule was finally broken by Huang Zongxi, a famous thinker in the Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty. He not only read all the books of Tianyi Pavilion, but also made contributions to the book cataloging of Tianyi Pavilion. Since then, Xu Jian 'an, Wan, Feng Nangeng, Chen Guangling, Quan and other famous scholars and bibliophiles have followed suit, scrambling to copy and read, and Tianyi Pavilion has finally become famous for a while, which has played a good demonstration role for subsequent collections. It seems that even the rules are not monolithic.
Tianyi Pavilion is a private library. Whether he likes borrowing or not is a private matter, and others can't control it. The library is a national public service organization, and the purpose of collecting books is to serve readers. Readers have the right to claim compensation whether they borrow it or not.
Regarding ancient cultural relics, there is indeed a contradiction between protection and development. For rare ancient books, the state and libraries have formulated relevant regulations to protect them, many of which are necessary, such as "Don't leave the library when the humidity is high" and "Don't browse ancient books with a pen, wear attached white gloves" ... But borrowing rare books costs 30 yuan to 50 yuan, and the copying fee is calculated separately, and each library does its own thing, which is not necessarily conducive to the protection of rare books. During the interview, it was found that the implementation of "all copying" was inconsistent. Even if this is a system, it is debatable whether this provision is perfect and reasonable. There should even be relevant hearings to give more readers a chance to express their opinions. Moreover, like some libraries, individual professional scholars with academic ability and publishing ability are welcome to sort out and publish rare books, which is of great benefit to libraries and countries that have no energy and funds to take care of all the development of rare books for the time being.
Contradictions are not irreconcilable What we are asking is not that the library make an exception for a scholar and destroy the system, but to formulate a more reasonable and complete system. Now even the private library of Tianyi Pavilion is building a small library, which is open to readers and tourists. Perhaps, some scholars' suggestions are reasonable: general ancient books should be allowed to be sorted by professional scholars; Precious rare books should be allowed to be sorted out by scholars after being reported to the relevant competent authorities for approval. In the Barnabas Library, the earliest library in the world, King Barnabas once said a famous saying, "Reading can not only expand knowledge and skills, but also cultivate noble temperament." We also look forward to "drinking knowledge" in the library like spoiling monsters! Hou Hongbin