Epilogue

I've been back about 5 days now. We returned late Sunday night, 12/9. I had planned on doing a daily diary from Beijing on QL Chat but we could not connect from China although we could access library email. We both worked at NLC (National Library of China) which is kind of their version of LC. NLC oversees many library services offered in China esp. cataloging. We actually worked for 10 days in the Cataloging and Acquistions Dept. and were trained in cataloging. I was in Western Languages and Ron in Chinese Cataloging and later he worked also in WL. This is a huge place with 1500 employees and we were introduced to most of the division chiefs and assistants and had a chance to talk to them at length. We also went to other libraries in the Beijing area (15,000,000 population) including the Capital Library, the main branch of public libraries in the city. There are also about 22 regional libraries and---300 local branches. All of these little libraries have 10,000 and under volumes, not sure if they circulate books, many of them I think are just reading rooms. Both of us did two major presentations, my last one was a powerpoint presentation that lasted about 2 hours. We had computers in our hotel rooms and needed time after work in order to prepare. I have never seen more large buildings than I did in Beijing. Most of the population lives in high rises and there are millions of them. Beijing is close to Inner Mongolia and only about 500 plus miles from Pyongyang, North Korea. The temperature is harsh, very cold in winter and hot in summer. It starts getting cold around 2 pm. Buses are only 1 Y per trip (12 cents) and subways are 2 Y, but all public transportation is crowded. At this time Beijing is trying to at least triple their subway system adding new lines esp. for the upcoming Summer Olympics. As a matter of fact there is so much construction going on that the air quality is usually very poor. I rarely saw a blue sky in Beijing and the first two weeks we were there you could smell the pollution in the air. It was that thick. Staff at NLC were very open and friendly. Points of interest about staff: they have quotas (in cataloging 18 books per day--if not completed have to stay without OT until finished). If you're single you get more vacation time. Because when you visit your family (most in Beijing not from the city and most do not know how to get anywhere in the city just where they work, etc.) you need more time to travel. After you get married you have new family and do not have to use as much time to travel. If you go to Beijing visit the Lao She Teahouse for a good variety show plus tea and snacks all for about $8.50. Prices of many items very cheap compared to New York but salaries are much lower than in US. Both Ron and I will do a presentation for QL staff sometime in the future. I hope you can make it, esp. Barb and Logan. A great experience that I will never forget. Thanks to Carol Sheffer and Stuart Rosenthal for giving me this opportunity. Thanks to my colleague Ron Wan for being a nice guy and good librarian.