Catalog of Ancient and Fine Books in the Library of Peking University:

Author: Peking University Library
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-06-01
Features: The Catalog of Ancient and Rare Books in Peking University Library has been released again, which has made some beneficial contributions to promoting our library's rich collection of ancient books to the outside world. However, this is far from enough. The organization of this exhibition is a bold attempt for us to showcase and promote ourselves to the public and engage in direct communication with readers. The unexpected success of the exhibition has also provided us with a good opportunity to demonstrate the value of ancient literature. We must seize this opportunity and take full advantage of it to vigorously develop ancient literature, making it better serve our university's teaching and research, and contributing to the construction of a world-class university.
The utilization of ancient literature in our library is currently not entirely satisfactory due to various influencing factors and constraints. In terms of collection, we have a rich repository of 1.5 million volumes, ranking among the top three in the country and the first among universities. However, due to limited storage conditions and cataloging capabilities, over 400,000 volumes remain uncataloged. Among the 1 million+ cataloged volumes, inconsistent cataloging standards and non-unified cataloging rules have led to chaotic and error-ridden records. Historical origin issues have resulted in multiple classification systems, making the catalogs complex and cumbersome to search. Currently, readers cannot fully search for ancient literature online. Therefore, we need to:
1. Further improve the existing card catalog system;
2. Accelerate the development of machine-readable catalogs for ancient books, including direct online cataloging of uncataloged volumes and retrospective machine cataloging of existing ones.
We believe that as the process of digitizing ancient catalogs deepens, the influence of our library's ancient literature will be greatly enhanced.
Ancient books are a distinctive feature of our library's collection. While striving to tap into the existing potential, we also aim to pursue new developments—both in terms of enriching the variety and types of ancient books. In recent years, with the continuous improvement of our library's financial situation, the leadership has placed special emphasis on the development of ancient resources, allocating dedicated funds for purchasing ancient books annually. Last year alone, our department acquired over 100 types of ancient books from Baoyizhai in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, focusing on genealogies as they are often unique and hold high collection value. Additionally, we pay attention to collecting other valuable types of documents, such as land deeds, receipts, and fish-scale registers, etc.