A Library A Dream
Domination of a great power usually grants domination to its language. In modern history, England had been the dominant power for over two centuries. English was introduced in British colonies such as British America and Australia. In the twentieth century the United States replaced Great Britain as the world’s dominant power. In terms of science and technology, many major achievements such as electric light, car, air plane, computer and internet were made possible by English speaking Americans. These achievements had altered the way humans live and greatly enhanced the living and cultural standard of human civilization. Considering these factors it is not surprising to find English as today’s international language. In fact, a great part of international scientific works and research are carried out and published in English. Furthermore, millions of books written in languages other than English had been translated into English over the centuries. English books had become a sea of intellectual resources. It became almost a necessity for countries that are interested in the most current and advanced development in science and technology to found an English language library.
China as a rising developing country is no exception. Comparing with other peoples of the world, Chinese people relatively lack the ability to master foreign languages. Difficulty in communication is a major barrier for the Chinese people to enter the international community. Because of this, Chinese immigrants in North America, Australia, Europe and other parts of the world found it relatively hard to emerge into the mainstream society. In the age of international trade and finance, this is a substantial disadvantage to the Chinese people.
The purpose of learning a language is to apply it in either communication or learning. Though learning English had been made mandatory in China’s education system for over two decades, the students have few opportunities to apply this new tool in their everyday life. The lack of English books in China is a major cause of this inefficiency. Though this situation had been somewhat remedied by the import of American movies and songs, the real essence and value of English as a language lie in the English books.
As an international student from China, I had the privilege to study at the University of Manitoba in the Faculties of Arts. In China, only the well to do families can send their children to study abroad. In my studies of Western history, I was fascinated by the Western tradition, especially the part of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Though this heritage is very different from the traditional Chinese perspective, it is very valuable and helpful to my understanding of human history nonetheless. I believe many of my peers in China would feel the same way in my position.
I felt a strong desire to make the books I have access to available to my fellow Chinese so that they can read them without traveling thousands of miles as I did. Inspired by my history instructor Dr. Gerry Bowler, I decided to set up an English language library in my home town, Shenyang, a city of seven million people. I started the Library Dream books collection at the University of Manitoba in November 2003. Between 2003 and 2007 I had visited 18 Canadian Universities and thousands of professors from a variety of disciplines. I managed to collect over 10000 books. Books were shipped to Shenyang City Library as donations. I firmly believed, and still believe today that setting up an English language library for China is one of the greatest contributions I can make for my country.
Though Library Dream Project is a success, four factors have limited its effectiveness. First, only readers from the city of Shenyang and nearby regions can have easy access to the books. Second, a book can be read by only one reader at a time. Third, books are fragile. If they were damaged or worn out, it would be hard to replace them. Fourth, transporting books from North America to Asia takes substantial amount of financial resources besides time and other inputs. This makes it hard to update the books on a timely basis. Thanks to the rising of computer and internet, a digital library can serve thousands of readers at the same time regardless of their geographic areas. In other words, a digital library can benefit not only Chinese readers but also readers from other parts of the world who are interested in using these resources. In addition, digital books are easy to store and update. A digital library is the way of the future. The Library Dream Project decides to set up a digital English library.
Building a digital English library requires more time and energy than that of a single individual. Therefore, I would like to invite volunteers who share my vision to participate in this important cause. I make this appeal especially to Chinese international students and immigrants who always bear a special responsibility to China and its people.
It is not to be forgotten that books have the wisdom and power to change the fate of a person, a nation and even the whole world.
www.librarydream.org
一个图书馆 一个梦想
一个强大的国家往往可以让它的语言得到广泛的推广。在近代历史中，英国在很多领域领先于世界其它国家超过两个世纪。英语也成为英国殖民地如美洲，澳洲等地的主要语言。在二十世纪美国取代英国成为世界第一强国。在科学和科技方面，很多主要的成就比如电灯， 汽车，飞机，电脑和互联网，都出现在说英语的美国。这些成就改变了人类生存的方式，在很大程度上提高了人类的生活水平和文明的高度。有了这些因素，英语成为当今世界上最广为应用的语言就不令人惊奇。目前很多国际上的科学研究都是在英语中进行和出版的，另外很多其它语言中的著作也在过去的几个世纪被翻译成英语。这让英文书籍变成了一个学术资源的海洋。建立一所英文图书馆几乎成为了每一个重视先进科学，科技国家的必须。
中国作为一个正在兴起的发展中国家也不例外。跟世界各国人民相比，中国人相对缺少掌握和灵活运用外文的能力。这是中国人民融入到世界大群体的一个主要障碍。为此，很多中国在美洲，澳洲，欧洲和世界其它地区的移民普遍感到很难融合到主流的社会中。在国际贸易与金融发达的今天，缺乏对外语的掌握对中国的繁荣是一个很不利的条件。
学习一门语言的目的在于可以用它来交流或者学习。虽然在过去的二十多年中，英语成为了中国教育体系的必要成分，但是很多学生都不能在现实生活中应用这个新的工具。英文书籍的缺乏是造成这个资源浪费的主要原因。 虽然这种情况被美国电影和歌曲的引进所缓解，英语真正的灵魂和价值存在于英文书籍中。
作为一个中国留学生，我很幸运来到加拿大曼尼托巴大学的人文系学习。在中国只有一些富足的家庭才有条件送他们的孩子出国学习。在对西方历史，尤其是古希腊和古罗马文明的学习中，我产生了很浓厚的兴趣。这样一个文化遗产虽然不同于中国的传统观念，但是在我对人类历史的认知中有很多的价值与帮助。我认为如果我的中国同辈们处于我的位置，也会有一样的认同。
我感到一种强烈的渴望，那就是使中国热爱学习的学生们不需要象我一样旅行千里就可以接触到同样的书籍。在我的历史教师杰瑞，布勒博士的启发下，我决定为我的故乡沈阳, 一个拥有7百万人口的城市，建立一所英文图书馆。2003年11月我在曼尼托巴大学开始为梦想英文图书馆收集书籍。在2003年到2007年之中，我访问了18所加拿大的大学和数千来自各个学科的教授们，收集了10000多本书籍，这些书籍作为捐赠运回沈阳市图书馆。我过去相信，现在仍然相信为中国建立一所英文图书馆是我可以为我的国家做的最好的事情之一。
虽然梦想英文图书馆的计划是成功的，它的作用却受到四个因素的局限。第一，图书馆只能给在沈阳和周边的读者们提供方便的服务。第二，一本书籍只能同时被一位读者阅读。第三，书籍很容易磨损。一旦损坏，很难替换。 第四，从北美洲运送书籍到中国需要耗费很多的人力和物力，故此书籍很难得到定期更新。得益于当今电脑和互联网的发展，一个电子图书馆可以在同一时间服务成千上万来自各个不同地域的读者们。换句话说，这个电子图书馆不仅可以造福中国读者，更可以为世界其它国家对这些书籍感兴趣的读者提供一个良好的机会。 另外电子图书易于存放和更新。电子图书馆是图书馆的未来。梦想英文图书馆决定建立一个英文电子图书馆。
要建立一个英文电子图书馆，靠一个人的时间和精力是不够的。所以我真诚邀请那些与我有着共同理想的朋友加入到这个重要的努力中。这份邀请尤其针对于中国在海外的留学生和移民们，因为他们一直肩负着一份对中国和中国人民特殊的责任。
我们不应该忘记书籍拥有改变一个人，一个国家，和整个世界的智慧与力量。
www.librarydream.org
尹国斌
2007年 7月 7
arthur@librarydream.org
[ 本帖最后由 MrChinese 于 7-10 09:36 编辑 ] |
楼上也想自己开书店啊，呵呵，到时候记得叫上我。
