Learning is naturally inseparable from books, and borrowing books is an indispensable part of the learning process for international students or visiting scholars. However, during my first three months in America, I only knew how to borrow books in the traditional way, that is, to look for books in the stacks of our library.
One day, I needed to borrow the Chinese version of Shakespeare's play "You Are Happy" for my thesis, so I asked the staff at the information desk of the library to help me find it. After searching on the computer for a while, he told me that there is no Chinese version of Shakespeare's works in our library, but the Library of Congress, Harvard University and the University of California all have Chinese versions of this book. After listening, I blurted out: "It's a pity that I can't borrow it!" He quickly replied: "No! You can borrow it online. " So, under his guidance, I learned to borrow books online, which benefited me a lot in the remaining nine months in the United States.
There are four peer-to-peer lending systems in the United States. The first is the national library loan system, which is called InterlibraryLoan in English and translated into "Interlibrary Loan" in Chinese. There are 1 17000 large and small libraries in the United States, which are distributed in various communities, schools, enterprises, hospitals, government agencies, legal departments and the military. Larger libraries have been networked with the "interlibrary loan" system.
The second is the global book lending system, which is called OnlineComputerLibraryCenter in English and translated into "online library center" in Chinese. The system was founded in 1967 and has been connected with 45,000 libraries in 84 countries or regions. These 84 countries or regions are spread across five continents, and in Asia, there are China, Japan and Hongkong. As long as you access the system online in these 84 countries or regions, you can borrow the books and periodicals you need from these 45,000 libraries. The interlibrary loan system in the United States has long been integrated with the online library center. As long as you enter the interlibrary loan system, you can borrow books and periodicals not only from all over the United States, but also from all over the world.
The third is the regional loan system, that is, the interlibrary loan system established by several neighboring States. For example, the "Ohio Network" system is a lending network jointly built by Ohio and several neighboring States, with more than 80 libraries. The fourth is the national lending system. Except for a few states, all states in the United States have interlibrary loan systems. There are only six comprehensive universities in Colorado where I live, plus several large public libraries, which constitute the state's interlibrary loan system, which is euphemistically called "prospector".
Interlibrary loan The first time you borrow books and periodicals online, you must first register a new user online and enter your personal data. What must be filled in are: name, number of student ID card or visiting scholar ID card issued by your university, e-mail, telephone number, mailing address, user name (under a pseudonym) and password. Once you register, you can go through the borrowing formalities immediately.
Online borrowing materials can be whole books (except dictionaries and other reference books) or publications, a chapter in a book or an article in a publication, or audio or video materials. In addition, the above four lending systems all have some e-books and articles, which readers can read directly or download and print online.
Online borrowing procedures are simple and quick, and can be done in two minutes.
The arrival time of borrowed books and periodicals varies with the distance from the lending library. If you are in the state, you can get books and periodicals in 3 to 5 working days. If borrowing the library is in another state, it will take 10 to 20 days. If the lending library is in another country or region, the time may be longer. On one occasion, the author requested to borrow an article from a magazine in Chinese mainland, and it took 28 days to receive a copy of the article sent by the Chinese University. On another occasion, it took me 33 days to receive a paper from Paris, France.
The borrowing period of books and periodicals is generally 2 1 day, counting from the day you get it. If you want to renew the fee, you can only renew it once, and the renewal period is 2 1 day. Return the book to your university library before it expires, and the staff will send it back for you. If it is overdue, it will still be fined. The standard of the fine is: 1 USD per book for the first 7 days, and $2 per book for the eighth day. This is much more than the fine of the campus library. If you lose a borrowed book, the compensation will be determined according to the value of the book. On average, each book often exceeds $65,438+$000. Copied materials borrowed from the Internet do not need to be returned.
In the United States, books and periodicals borrowed from the Internet are free.
When I come back from America, I often feel sorry for losing the advantage of borrowing books online. As a student in China, I look forward to the establishment of a nationwide interlibrary loan system in China and the networking of the global "online library center" in China. The modernization of a country is inseparable from the modernization of information construction. In my opinion, when the above two goals are achieved, it is time for China to realize information modernization.