23 November 2018 Chinese Sister City Librarians Meet in Komi to Discuss Partnership Opportunities 22 November, a delegation from Shanxi province, People's Republic of China, visited the Komi National Library. The Shanxi administrative centre and largest city Taiyuan and Sktyvkar have been sister-cities since 1994. The guests arrived in Komi for a two-day visit to meet professional partners and discuss cooperation opportunities.
Deputy Director of the Komi National Library Olga Kyrnysheva gave a brief introduction to the library system in Komi and presented the national library as a major public information centre and the Komi national heritage depository.
Head of Foreign Language Literature Department Tatiana Martseniuk talked about the international activities of the library and formats of interaction with overseas partners. On behalf of the library, she proposed organizing joint thematic Skype-meetings for a wide audience and best practices exchange for librarians. Ms Guo Xinping, Head of the Taiyuan City Public Library, heartily supported the idea of building a partnership with our library. She was particularly interested in opportunities for professional internship and was keen to welcome an exhibition about the history and culture of the Komi Republic at the Taiyuan Library.Â
Other high-profile guests were Mr Guo Jian, Acting Vice President of the Shanxi Association of Culture and Art Workers, Ms Zhang Yuanhao, deputy advisor of the Department of International Affairs of the Shanxi People's Government, Mr Wei Zhihua, deputy advisor of the Shanxi Finance Department, Mr Zhang Zhenbang, head of the Shuozhou Culture Bureau, and Mr Qiao Peng, representative of the Shanxi Committee for International Trade Development.Â
During a short tour of the library, the guests stopped by the Foreign Language Literature Department to look at the exhibition of books about China from our collection. They admired the rare Chinese textbooks dating back to the early 1930s and the 1895 historical study of the Chinese-Japanese war, browsed through modern phrase-books, dictionaries, audio and video materials, and photo albums exploring Chinese arts and history.Â
Incidentally, to the guests' surprise, the exhibition displayed two books made in Shanxi, their home region - albums of masterful paper-cut artworks representing mythological and theatrical subjects. Â
The Taiyuan Library, located in the urban centre of the thousand-year-old city, was renovated and expanded in 2017. It is very popular in Taiyuan because of its tremendous space, comprehensive collections, high-quality services, and cultural activities. The library mission statement is "inheriting civilization, conserving culture, and warming the heart". | The atrium of the Taiyuan Library |  www.chinadaily.com |
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