Should professional libraries such as university libraries be open to the public free of charge? How to open it? The Standing Committee members have different opinions.
In favor: University library resources cannot be wasted.
During the deliberation, some members of the Standing Committee held that the efficiency of existing library resources should be better utilized and the openness of existing libraries should be further expanded, especially some professional libraries, such as schools and research institutions, can be further opened.
Commissioner Zheng Gongcheng said: "The libraries invested by the government are not only libraries in charge of cultural departments, but also libraries of public universities. At present, university libraries are larger than those managed by cultural departments, but according to the current draft, they are not public libraries, and many universities do not provide services of millions or tens of millions of books. " He suggested that university libraries invested by the government should also be included in this law, and then graded supervision should be carried out, so as to make the best use of all kinds of libraries invested by the government, facilitate the public and reduce waste.
Committee member Lang Sheng suggested that the general provisions of this law should be open to the public, making it a principle in the construction and development management of public libraries. "It is a very important way to enjoy resources well. Although libraries in many places have made efforts, I think there is still great potential in this respect. Our national library and provincial libraries have a large number of books and materials. Can we share resources with some local libraries and reading rooms, especially grassroots libraries, to better meet the needs of the people? "
"As a huge library, the school library should undertake some functions of social demand for book resources, provide some services to the society, meet the needs of the society, realize the enjoyment of resources and reduce waste." For example, Committee member Yan Xiaopei said that Shenzhen explored from the perspective of resource sharing ten years ago, that is, when the government invested in the construction of a science and technology library, it added the "Shenzhen Library" brand to the library of Shenzhen University Town, and also considered some social needs in the allocation of books and materials.
Commissioner Long Zhuangwei said that according to the current administrative divisions of the country, there are 2,852 county-level units in the country. Let's just say that every county has a library, but some county libraries can't even reach the scale of a middle school library. At present, the resources of 29 14 university libraries in China are much larger than those of 2852 county-level libraries. Legislation cannot say that the Ministry of Culture is called a public library, and the more than 2,900 libraries managed by the Ministry of Education are not called public libraries.
"We went to some schools. Many libraries have a lot of books, but the proportion of teachers and students is still relatively low, and many books have been shelved." Committee member Wu Heng believes that encouraging the libraries of schools and scientific research institutions to open to the society will facilitate the development of office libraries by social forces, which is of great value for further prospering the librarianship and activating the cultural activities of the whole society.
Objection: Be cautious about opening to the society free of charge.
When deliberating in groups, some members of the Standing Committee were cautious about this. They think that the problem of free opening of university libraries to the society should be cautious and they can try to provide digital services to the outside world.
"Now college students are almost all in the library except during class hours, so it is very common to queue up to occupy seats. After opening to the society, what about the management of this piece? Moreover, the security problem in colleges and universities is particularly troublesome. If you treat it like a general public library, who will bear the responsibility in case of a safety accident? " Commissioner Wang Mingwen thinks that the legislative intention of opening university libraries is good and the direction is correct, but if it is written into law, we should consider how to write it more appropriately. The suggestion is only to make it clear that the digital library of university library should be open to the society.
Committee member Huang Xiaojing also advocated caution, and suggested that the form of "all libraries in internet plus" should be piloted, and all libraries in the country should be networked in digital form, which can be consulted by all university libraries.
Committee member Li Lianning suggested adding "the state takes measures to promote exchanges and cooperation among public libraries, school libraries and scientific research libraries" in the draft. He believes that when schools and other professional libraries are opening to the outside world, they should also consider their own actual situation and make some norms in terms of opening hours and opening methods.