In Dublin: Encounter the 300-year-old university library

Dublin was the last stop on our trip to Ireland, the last attraction being University College Dublin. As a National University of Ireland, it has a long history of many presidents, prime ministers, diplomats and cultural celebrities in the country, and its educational and scientific research standards are well known. The tour guide will walk and introduce, and when the tour of the entire university exterior is completed, it will be announced that the free activities will begin.

The library is not only an important part of the university, but also the support of the spiritual connotation of the university. As a teacher who has been working in the university for many years, I came to the university outside the region, and I was curious and expected of the library of the university, remembering that I had just hurried past the library, so I turned back to see what was going on. It was a three-story building. The light gray walls, inlaid with white window frames, are very atmospheric. On the ground floor is a row of huge arched window openings, black window frames, spacious and solemn. When I got closer, I saw that there were large promotional banners on both sides of the entrance of the library, which read, "Dublin Trinity College Library, 1712-2012, 300th Anniversary Celebrations." Ah, the 300-year-old library! There was a not-so-short queue at the entrance of the library, and I went up to inquire and learned that I needed to buy tickets to enter the library. The library has become a tourist attraction, and I am afraid that it is also unique. Although the price was not cheap, I did not hesitate to stand at the end of the line.

It was raining in the sky. The Irish chill of mid-autumn is thick. While waiting, the second time I have been to the library of the foreign university in the past years is reflected in my mind. The library of the University of Melbourne is quaint. The architecture of the library resembles the Victorian style of freely combining various decorative elements, and the use of large scales and curves, the elaborate patterns and hanging flowers, and the popular bas-reliefs of that year fully express the characteristics of those who suddenly increased their wealth in that era, the desire to flaunt their status due to the possession of wealth. The University of Melbourne's collection of Chinese books is impressive, when I was teaching at Latrobes University in the same city as the University of Melbourne, and most of the Chinese materials needed for teaching were solved in the library of the University of Melbourne. Compared to the University of Melbourne Library, the University of Michigan's library tends to be more modern. The large floor-to-ceiling glass doors and windows subtly integrate the green campus scenery into the museum. Sitting in such a reading room, the open field of vision and quiet environment will make people settle down and quickly calm down into the state of reading and working.

The impression of the University of San Francisco Library is due to the University's Matteo Ricci Institute. Interestingly, the Matteo Ricci Institute sits inside the library. At that time, his workplace was arranged in the Ricci Institute, so he had to go through the library to work in the institute. Every day, I pushed open one after another heavy oak doors wrapped in copper skin to enter and exit the library, and I was very familiar with the different scenes of morning and dusk in the library. The most vivid memories are those students who clung to the library on pillows during exams and the lights that stayed there all night.

My mind returned to the present, and I walked into the main room of the library with a little anticipation, and the strong visual feeling was shock! The first thing that catches the eye is the library's tall dome and the promenade, which is almost impossible to see. The dome is high and people have to look up hard to see clearly. The promenade, which is 65 meters long according to the introduction, as the main library's main library collection space, treasures more than 200,000 ancient Irish books that are called national treasures. The rows of bookshelves in the promenade resemble exquisite large-scale wood carvings, with concave and convex lines, and letters marking them to distinguish the books.

Between the bookshelves, the promenade has a main road flanked by dozens of marble busts of historical figures. In the promenade, the intense colours and atmosphere of brown oak floors and dark brown wooden bookshelves set off the striking, smooth and textured milk white marble statues. At the end, a carved metal spiral escalator leads upstairs. There are also some display cases on display in the promenade. Here you can see treasures such as books, parchment and quills from hundreds of years ago. Don't worry about the long walking and standing in the library, there are comfortable and wide oak chairs for readers to rest next to the display cases. People can stop here and quietly feel the richness of human culture in the ocean of books. Looking around, most of the classics and yellowed pages of the books show the depth of history and the inheritance of human civilization. The Argentine writer Borges once said: Heaven should be like a library. I don't know if he's ever been here. If he visits, I guess he will smile when he sees it.

Trinity College Dublin Library is documented to be ireland's oldest and largest research library. It deserves the prestigious title of being called the largest library in Europe alongside the Oxford University Library and the British Library in the UK.

(The author is a professor at the School of International Chinese Language and Culture, East China Normal University)