Beijing's libraries compete on Olympic-level services

Shijingshan District Library outshined Beijing's 24 other district, county, and children's libraries in a recent contest recognizing Olympic-level excellence in public library services.

With support from the Beijing Municipal Culture Bureau and supervised by the Capital Library, the contest was an important component of the Beijing public library system's participation in the campaign "Welcome the Olympics, Improve Manners and Foster the New Attitudes."

The contest judged the libraries in terms of traditional librarian services like questions and answers in addition to English conversation. The contestants all had a general grasp of knowledge in various expert areas and had a good command of English. They demonstrated the professional qualities of the modern librarian.

According to Ni Xiaojian, Capital Library's head librarian, the preparations for the contest were simply part of the process to an ultimate gold of improving the overall service level at the libraries.

With the proximity of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, and with public libraries being a cultural public service, the librarians will undergo a lot more training and appraisal to raise the level of the city's public library services.