A Good Read, Pt.3: Libraries in Shanghai

Part three in a series about where to find a good read in Shanghai
Part I, Fake Books and Bookstores
Part II, Used Bookstores and Online Shopping

Today, we will focus on Shanghai Libraries that offer books in foreign languages.

The Shanghai Library
This is the Main Branch and is in the center of town. If you are a fan of hardback books or just saving money, borrowing books from the library is the way to go. To top it off, the Shanghai library has books found NO WHERE ELSE in China. Just look at this gem:

Gorgeous, right?

Getting a library card is very simple. When you walk into the main hall, to the right will be the card registration area (open 830-16:30). At one of the many computer terminals, you will be asked to enter your personal information (including passport number). About 3 minutes later, you will have a brand-spanking new card that looks something like this:

You have a few options to what services you require. If you just want to hang out at the library and read books without borrowing them, all services are free. If you want to take books home, you must pay a deposit: 100RMB for just Chinese books or 1,000RMB for Foreign Books.

On the fourth floor of the library is the foreign language section (open 9:00 to 17:00). Forget about the Dewey Decimal System. Navigating the foreign language section of the Shanghai Library may seem like a daunting task, but it only takes several minutes to understand the “organization” system. Here are some of the divisions:
-English Language books; categorized by nationality > genre > author (though not always consistent)
-A huge section devoted to Australian literature that is separate from the other English titles
-a surprisingly large German-language Literature collection
-UN depository Library
-Foreign Periodicals/Magazines (in many languages) dating back decades.
-Small French, Japanese, and Korean Sections
-Even Smaller Spanish, Italian, Portuguese Sections

You’d be surprised at how many decent books can be found here, but with such a small but diverse division of the library, don’t be surprised by the obscurities and rarities as well. For instance, I found “Comic Book Price Guide ‘96” (J812.1-7 B114) and four separate books that chronicled American Bluegrass Music. I was also very shocked to find a copy of Jung Chang’s Wild Swans (K828.5 C456) which is banned in China. How about that?!
Finally, if you are into Chinese-language books, it doesn’t get any better than the Shanghai Library which boasts 5 floors of books, periodicals, newspapers, references, and everything in between. Also included are ancient documents as old as 1,500 years old, but I’m pretty sure your library card won’t help you take them home. From what I understand it’s the second-largest library in China (first being the National Library in Beijing). If you are just into quirky Chinese things, don’t forget to visit “The Manuscript Library of Chinese Cultural Celebrities.” Thank me later.

Shanghai Library
1555 Huai Hai Zhong Road, near Gao’an Rd (on line 9, Shanghai Library Station)
上海图书馆
淮海中路1555号，靠近高安路

Changning Library
Also known as the Window to China Reading Center, this is the closest public library to you Gubei folk. The 8th Floor boasts a quiet area known as the Foreign Language Reading Room (which confusingly is also known as the Hongqiao International Library). It’s a small yet comfortable place that resembles the inside of renaissance man’s personal library complete with (faux) antique furniture, oriental rugs, (reprints of) impressionist paintings, a (fake) deer’s head, and a pair of (reproduced) 18th-century muskets crossed and hung on the wall in a gentlemanly sort of way. Not the greatest selection, but a nice comfy place to drink a coffee and get some work done. I did notice an entire wall dedicated to Lonely Planet, Fodor’s and the like.

It is here that on the First Saturday of every month (2-3pm), the 8th floor hosts a “Bookcrossing” in which people come and share foreign books and DVDs. This is a great way to cheaply exchange your read books with new ones, meet new friends, and get recommendations for new reads. According to their flyer, pirated content will be declined, though I speculate it is merely “frowned upon.”
The ground floor of the library also has a decent café with wireless internet for those just looking for a quiet public place to study.

If you Google this library’s address, you will find a bunch of different results. Using the addresses I found on a few local sites (that I won’t mention by name), I was sent on a wild goose chase to find the true location. After a few hours on the bike, here is the ACTUAL address:

356 Tianshan Road (on the block between Tianzhong and Weining)
Line 2 subway – Weining Road station. Walk out of the exit and you can’t miss the big sign!
天山路356号，靠近威宁路

Pudong Library - http://www.pdlib.com
Just north of Jinxiu Road Station on metro line 7 at Jinxiu Road and Qiancheng Road.
 

University Libraries
Personally, I can only speak for Jiaotong University’s Library. There, you are allowed to enter and use all the facilities, but unless you are a student you will not be able to borrow books. Either way, these are places with academic energy that might motivate you to get some studying / work done. Try Jiaotong, Fudan, Donghua, East China Normal, Shanghai International Studies University, and Tongji Universities. These schools should have English titles.