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Libraries join mobile Internet age
By Liang Yiwen |
September 28, 2011, Wednesday
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IMAGINE a day when you will be able to read books from a US library on your iPad, Kindle or other e-reader in your classroom in China.
Cloud computing will make this possible by digitizing all the books in the world and linking all libraries all over the world.
Fudan University has taken the first step toward that dream, launching a mobile digital library earlier this month.
The virtual library is open to students and faculty members 24/7. They can visit the online library via their computers, e-readers and cell phones from anywhere with an Internet connection.
"No matter whether the students are using a luxury iPhone or a cell phone that costs 200 yuan (US$31.30), they can all access the library," said Ge Jianxiong, the curator. "We must give less-privileged students a chance to learn."
The library has commissioned a soft engineering firm to make the platform available to run on all types of platforms.
They can visit mlib.fudan.edu.cn to search for books, make reservations and read the digital version of some books kept by the library.
Students can also write their thoughts about books in the digital version, which is obviously not allowed on hard copies. These opinions can be shared with others.
Fudan is the first university to launch a virtual library and some other local universities also have similar plans to digitize their book collections.
However, the library is currently only open to students and faculty members of the universities.
"The technology to realize a universal library has been available," Ge said. "The biggest obstacle is copyright protection.
"We must get the approval of authors to publish the books online," he said. But he believes the dream of a global library is not far away.
He said the real school library will still exist because many students and teachers need to read the real book for research purposes.
Shanghai Library has been a pioneer in developing the digital library as early as 2009 when it started to lend e-readers to members, the first in the country.
The newly opened Pudong New Area Library is also ready for this new era.
Readers can access information about each book in its collection by visiting the library's website. The wired and wireless information network covers every corner of the library.
Cloud computing will make this possible by digitizing all the books in the world and linking all libraries all over the world.
Fudan University has taken the first step toward that dream, launching a mobile digital library earlier this month.
The virtual library is open to students and faculty members 24/7. They can visit the online library via their computers, e-readers and cell phones from anywhere with an Internet connection.
"No matter whether the students are using a luxury iPhone or a cell phone that costs 200 yuan (US$31.30), they can all access the library," said Ge Jianxiong, the curator. "We must give less-privileged students a chance to learn."
The library has commissioned a soft engineering firm to make the platform available to run on all types of platforms.
They can visit mlib.fudan.edu.cn to search for books, make reservations and read the digital version of some books kept by the library.
Students can also write their thoughts about books in the digital version, which is obviously not allowed on hard copies. These opinions can be shared with others.
Fudan is the first university to launch a virtual library and some other local universities also have similar plans to digitize their book collections.
However, the library is currently only open to students and faculty members of the universities.
"The technology to realize a universal library has been available," Ge said. "The biggest obstacle is copyright protection.
"We must get the approval of authors to publish the books online," he said. But he believes the dream of a global library is not far away.
He said the real school library will still exist because many students and teachers need to read the real book for research purposes.
Shanghai Library has been a pioneer in developing the digital library as early as 2009 when it started to lend e-readers to members, the first in the country.
The newly opened Pudong New Area Library is also ready for this new era.
Readers can access information about each book in its collection by visiting the library's website. The wired and wireless information network covers every corner of the library.
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