Recently, HZAU has released 2015 Reading Report to reflect the reading situation of teachers and students with a vivid illustration and detailed data.
The report illustrates that the library visitors amount to 862,905, with undergraduates, graduates and doctoral students respectively accounting for 90%, 9% and 1% and the ratio of male to female being 7:3.
In HZAU, 19,742 readers have borrowed 260,511 books from the library. Moreover, the borrowed books per capita is 13.2, with undergraduates, graduates and doctoral students respectively borrowing 14.6, 12.5 and 13.3 books. College of Horticulture & Forestry ranks the first of the total borrowing books amount, followed by the College of Economics & Management and College of Life science and Technology.
The most frequently borrowed books are the ones on literature, industry, technology and economy. According to the search engine, the most popular books are novels, and the top five are Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Complete Works of Shakespeare, The Secret of Grave Robber, Tian Ji, Dream of Red Mansions and Molecular Biology.
As mentioned by Curator Peng Guangmang, the library visitors have declined over the previous years, which is a common phenomenon of the libraries around the world. Readers choose to read online for its convenience, which has been proved by increasing visitors of library’s online resources. Mr. Peng believes that the revolutionary change of the media is the inevitable faced by all the libraries. Besides reading books, library should also be a good place for learning and sharing knowledge, and a heaven for peaceful mind.
Mr. Peng stresses that we should pay more attention to the reading depth, rather than the number of borrowed books. He adds that college students read relatively few classics with a narrow vision and little interest. Students pay little attention to world and Chinese literature classics and even neglect science classic works which have played an important role in human’s cognitive development.
The lack of reading classics will lead to vacuum in a person’s spiritual world. Mr. Peng believes reading literary works is vital in one’s life, the function of which cannot be replaced by other works.
Yan Dongzhe from College of Plant Science & Technology borrowed 162 books, which enables him to win the title “2015 Annual Reading Talent”. He said: “I can see a different world in the book. It not only can change the way I think, but also widen my horizon.” Mr. Peng also compares reading to a “spiritual adventure”, and readers should not easily give up, even though some books may seem boring and obscure.
In HZAU, April is our reading month. The library will launch a series of activities to encourage more people to enjoy reading. Moreover, library will also improve the service and enrich book resources so as to satisfy students’ needs.
（by Zhuang Jing）
http://news.hzau.edu.cn/2016/0322/44946.shtml
