Strategies for Promoting Chinese Public Libraries' Participation in Cultural Heritage Inheritance: Taking the Conservation of Ancient Books in Public Libraries as an Example

Abstract

[Purpose/Significance] As an important member of cultural memory institutions, public libraries shoulder the responsibility of protecting human cultural heritage and passing on civilization. It plays a pivotal role in the inheritance and development of cultural heritage. The active participation of public libraries will be conducive to the preservation of resources and presentation of cultural heritage, thus promoting the value reproduction of cultural heritage. This article studies the strategy for promoting China's public libraries' participation in cultural heritage, and from the perspective of ancient books preservation, it can provide reference for public libraries' participation in cultural heritage and promote the better development and utilization of cultural heritage. [Method/Process] In order to understand the concept of "cultural heritage" and the importance of public libraries in the protection of cultural heritage, this paper examined relevant policies and laws, and analyzed the necessity and feasibility of public libraries' participation in the transmission of cultural heritage in detail. At the same time, it studied the current situation of public libraries' participation in the theoretical research and practice of cultural heritage. The three cases selected in this paper, National Library, Shanghai Library and Suzhou Library, are all important units in the protection and restoration of ancient books in China, and have leadership and representativeness in the organization and application of ancient books in their collections and the innovation of digitalized ancient book services. This study focuses on three aspects: protection of ancient books and restoration projects, development and utilization of ancient books, and innovative services of digitalized ancient books through literature review and case study. Through comparative analysis, the means and shortcomings of ancient books' protection are comprehensively analyzed. [Results/Conclusions] There are several problems in the protection of ancient books in public libraries in China: the digital versions of ancient book resources are presented in a single way; the audience of ancient books is not large; and motivation for the promotion and display of ancient books is not strong enough. Suggestions are provided for promoting public librarie's participating in cultural heritage: providing more characteristic resource services and building characteristic resource databases; collaborating with other cultural institutions to develop digital humanities' platforms for cultural heritage; actively applying for cultural projects while cultivating professionals; strengthening the teaching of skills to protect cultural heritage in a wider scope; carrying out a series of activities to stimulate the public interest; strengthening the promotion and marketing of cultural heritage to create a cultural heritage brand. Admittedly, this paper still has the problem that the case study is not comprehensive enough, and it is expected that more in-depth research and analysis can be carried out in the future.

Keywords

• public libraries|cultural heritage|strategy|protection of ancient books|public cultural services