Studying in the United States Three major features of American libraries

I would like to introduce to you the three major features of American libraries when studying in the United States. I hope it will be helpful to students studying abroad. If you want to know more about studying abroad, I will give you detailed answers.

1. Open to anyone

The libraries mentioned here specifically refer to public libraries that serve the public, excluding university libraries, private libraries and presidential libraries. and other categories. The public library is open to almost anyone. Visitors can apply for a library card for free as long as they show a valid ID. No deposit is required, there are no handling fees, and books, periodicals, audiobooks, CDs, DVDs and other materials can be borrowed completely free of charge.

Most of the buildings in public libraries are simple and practical, and many of them are even nearly a hundred years old. However, no matter how big or small, new or old, the reading environment is neat and comfortable, and the book smells pleasant. People can not only read here You can read books, newspapers and magazines, and use Wi-Fi and computers for free. Due to the high degree of openness of the library, even homeless people can enjoy these services. Many people simply make the library their home. As long as it does not affect normal order, they can stay in the library all day long.

In recent years, e-reading has become popular around the world. Far from falling behind, the public library system in the United States has adapted and taken advantage of this trend well.

On the one hand, they are working hard to digitize the collection of rare books and historical materials, and on the other hand, they are cooperating with a number of e-book providers. In this process, cooperation among libraries has also become more in-depth, and multiple libraries often join forces to purchase expensive electronic book databases. In this way, each library only needs to pay a small amount of money to allow readers to borrow a large number of electronic books for free, and supports reading on various mobile terminals such as iPhone, iPad, kindle, and Samsung.

2. Shadow puppetry is also a service component

The lending service is only a basic service, and the library also undertakes a number of other public services.

Taking Los Angeles County as an example, the administrators of the children’s department of the Los Angeles Central Library must learn to tell stories and perform shadow puppet shows, and arrange a fixed time every month to perform for children; the staff of the youth department need to be very familiar with SAT (American College Admission Test), they provide test consulting and career planning guidance to teenagers.

In addition, the annual summer book club is a must-have regular project in almost every library. Many libraries often hold small performances and exhibitions, and the Crowell Library in the small city of San Marino actually provides For passport processing services, Ms. McDermott, the curator of the museum, once wrote a book specifically introducing how administrators can adapt to multi-functional work.

To maintain so many public service functions, sufficient human resources must be available. However, the library does not have many formal employees. Most special services rely on volunteers. The library only needs to provide space and funding, and provide volunteers with the necessary training.

Regular library employees belong to the government civil service system and generally have professional degrees in library management. They are mainly responsible for budget formulation, purchasing new books, book classification and daily lending business, but they will also participate in a considerable number of public service projects. . Volunteers only participate in a specific project, such as teaching English classes to new immigrants, serving as literacy counselors, etc.

In addition, each library has a board of directors with members from different backgrounds who are responsible for providing suggestions from different fields and playing a supervisory role to ensure that the library meets various needs to the greatest extent. Theoretically any citizen can apply to the city to be a board member, but only candidates who have been voted in by the city council can hold the position, and board members are not paid for their work.

3. Funding sources

A large amount of funds are needed to maintain the operation of the library.

However, except for a small amount of fines for late return of books and space rental fees, the library has almost no income, so where do the operating funds come from?

Still taking Los Angeles County as an example, its public *** books The library system is divided into two sets, one is the county library system, and the other is the city's self-built library. Join the county library system or build your own? The City Council can vote on that, but regardless of the choice, unless there is no library, the city will have to spend a certain percentage of tax revenue each year (usually a percentage of the property). set aside a portion of the tax) as the main source of funding to maintain library operations.

The amount of this fund varies with the size of the city. For example, in addition to a central library, Los Angeles has 72 branches, forming a system of its own; Pasadena also has a A system of 10 libraries; San Marino, with a population of only 13,000, only needs to build one library.

Funds from the government can only be used to purchase new books and pay staff salaries, which is to maintain the daily operations of the library. How to implement other functions?

It turns out that every library They all have a foundation, and professionals are responsible for raising funds, which are only used for large expenditures related to fixed assets, such as building repairs, new equipment purchases, etc. In addition, libraries usually accept donations, which are the source of funds for special services. Donors usually clearly indicate the purpose for which the money must be used, such as children's education or youth services.