On January 2, 1982, the Guangzhou Library (then called The Spark Burning Pavilion) opened on Zhongshan 4th Road. The news made the citizens boil. Opens at 2 p.m., 7,000 people enter the museum that day. In the face of such a high enthusiasm from readers, Guangzhou Library decided to continue to open the library during the upcoming Spring Festival. As a result, Guangtu became the first library in China to open during the Spring Festival. Since then, every Spring Festival, Guangzhou Library has insisted on opening and holding a variety of activities. The original intention has not changed for 40 years. Nowadays, going to the library has become a New Year custom for Guangzhou people to celebrate the New Year.
(Photo: Wang Weixuan)
Experience: In 1982, the museum was opened during the Spring Festival for the first time in China
On January 2, 1982, the grand opening of the museum in Guangtu. (Remake from profile image)
The library does not close during the Spring Festival, and continuing to provide services for readers is a matter that everyone is accustomed to at the moment. However, 40 years ago, the museum was not closed during the Spring Festival and continued to provide services to readers, which was an extremely new event. "Coincidentally, the Spring Festival of '82 is very similar to this year, and it was also in January, as a young library that opened on January 2, 1982, and soon we ushered in the first Spring Festival." Yuan Xingwei, who is currently the director of the editorial department of Guangzhou Library, recalls the grand occasion when the library opened during the first Spring Festival and is still full of joy.
In her opinion, at that time, Guangtu as a young library, service was the biggest feature. "Although there were only three days off during the Spring Festival that year, the leaders of the library considered that comrades should be able to enjoy a certain Spring Festival holiday and better serve readers during the Spring Festival, so they decided that all librarians should devote themselves to the service frontline and work together to complete the service task of opening the Spring Festival."
She did not feel anything special at first, but the opening of the Guangzhou Library during the Spring Festival caused a lot of repercussions in the society at that time. Yuan Xingwei worked in the Children's Department at that time, and originally thought that the Children of the Spring Festival must have gone to visit the New Year or go everywhere to play, and the work would be very relaxed, "But I did not expect that when we opened the door on the first day of the New Year, we found that there were already children in line outside the door, and there were children walking in throughout the day. Time passed quietly, and soon the three-day holiday of the Spring Festival passed in a flash. ”
After deeply feeling the enthusiasm of the citizens of Guangzhou, since then, every festive season, including the Spring Festival, the Guangzhou Library has insisted on being open to the public. That persistence is 40 years.
Testimony: The original intention of 40 years of service remains unchanged, and the enthusiasm of readers for knowledge remains unchanged
Director Lin Zhicheng of Guangtu Information Consulting Department has worked in Guangtu for 40 years, accompanied by the development of Guangtu. On January 2, 1982, Guangtu opened the museum in Zhongshan 4th Road. He studied library management at Sun Yat-sen University and became the first wave of readers to enter the library. "Everything is new and thriving, the facilities and service attitude are good." What impressed him most was that at that time, there were only dial-up telephones, and Guangtu had already taken the lead in using push-button telephones. After graduating that year, he entered the guangtu work as he wished, and he realized how important this telephone was— at that time, readers' consultations and librarians' answers were basically transmitted by telephone.
The day of the opening of the museum also happened to be Lin Zhicheng's birthday. During the birthday period, witnessing the birth of the Guangzhou Library is really a wonderful fate. And this fate has continued for 40 years. "On the day of the museum, readers lined up like a long queue. 40 years later, on January 2nd, I took a look outside the library, and readers still lined up to enter the library and circled around the library. ”
Guangtu not only set a precedent for the opening of the spring festival in the country, but also led in many aspects. For example, in the 1980s, Guangtu took the lead in introducing a lot of foreign professional materials, especially the materials for studying abroad, providing very timely and accurate information for those who were ready to study at that time; thanks to the favorable time and place, Guangtu also introduced a lot of the latest industry information in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, such as the original books and magazines about clothing. Many people in the design and manufacturing industries come to consult the information extensively. Guangzhou-made clothing leads the country's fashion trend, and the library can be said to have opened a window for the industry. "It did play a certain role in the booming garment industry in Guangzhou at that time." Director Lin said.
In his view, these 40 years are full of changes and eternal. What has changed is that Guangtu's services are more and more diversified, and more and more readers are also changing; what has not changed is that in the past 40 years, the original intention of Guangtu's opening and office service has not changed, and the readers' enthusiasm for knowledge has not changed.
Text/Guangzhou Daily, New Flower City Reporter: Sun Jun
Photo/ Guangzhou Daily, Xinhuacheng reporter: Wang Weixuan
Video/Guangzhou Daily, New Flower City Reporter: Wang Weixuan, Sun Jun
Guangzhou Daily New Flower City Editor Li Qiaorong