The predecessor of Hunan University Library can be dated back to the Royal Library of Yuelu Academy which was built in the Northern Song Dynasty. At present Hunan University Library possesses 3 library buildings and 29 college/department reference rooms, with a total area of over 35,000 square meters and 3,000 seats in the reading rooms. Library buildings are made up of Branch Library for Special Collections (built in 1947 and enlarged in 1951), Central Library (built in 1979), and Branch Library in North Campus (built in 1983 as the library of Hunan College of Finance and Economics and enlarged in 1999). Among them, Royal Library of Yuelu Academy at the foot of Yuelu Mountain, Branch Library for Special Collections, and Central Library are distributed in the central axis of Hunan University from the west to the east. They have reflected the historical track of Chinese libraries’ development, and formed amazing scenery with the ancient book-storage buildings, contemporary libraries and modern libraries echoing from afar.

By the end of 2009, the total collection of Hunan University Library amounts to more than 4,800,000, including 2,770,000 printed collections with 2,430,000 Chinese collections, and 340,000 collections in foreign languages. Hunan University Library has rich digital resources equivalent to 2,030,000 collections, with 146 million RMB as the total value of document information resources. In addition, in Hunan Celebrities' Collection Center of the library, there are over 20,000 bamboo sculptures, books, calligraphies and paintings donated by Taiwan Residents who were born in Hunan Province represented by Mr. Li Youzeng. A resource system has been intra-regionally established featuring science and engineering documents, economic documents, documents in foreign languages and electronic resources.

Hunan University Library consists of Resources Construction Department, System Construction Department, Information Consultation Department, Documents Borrowing Department, General Office, Branch Library for Special Collections, Branch Library in North Campus, and Information Research Institute. At present it boasts of being member of the Steering Committee for Academic Libraries of China, Ministry of Education, the secretary-general of Hunan Steering Committee for Academic Libraries, and the vice president unit of Hunan Libraries Society and Hunan Society for Scientific and Technical Information. It is also in charge of publishing Library Work in Colleges and Universities which is a professional journal in the field of library and information.

Professional Branch Libraries

Hunan University Library includes 11 world wide web virtual professional branch libraries such as Branch Library on Economics, Law, Management, Humanities, Science, Communication and Fine Arts, Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Civil and Structural Engineering, Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Electric and Information Engineering, and Royal Library of Yuelu Academy, with a total number of 29 Reference Rooms for different subjects. There are nearly 360,000 books in Chinese and foreign languages, and 3,273 kinds of newspapers and periodicals in each branch library, with 529 seats in the Reading Rooms, 127 equipments for end-user searching and the total area of 5,283 square meters. Branch libraries are all connected to resource servers of Hunan University Library through campus network, and possess unique professional features through collecting various subject-oriented documents. Branch Libraries are opening to provide readers with all kinds of services under a unified mode. Under the management mode of integrating books administration, collection, lending and reading, they are responsible for lending books not only to students and teachers of relevant colleges and departments, but also to other readers in Hunan University. At the same time, subordinate reference rooms of branch libraries offer deep-level services of college entrance orientation education, training on information searching, reference, and consultation, document supply, and research subjects confirmation.

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