Chinese Canadian Library Weblog

The campus is so quiet on this rainy Monday, as if I could hear the petals falling off the magnolia trees by IKBLC. Solving a mystery of a series with messy bib records as soon as I walked into the library, turned out it’s a call-back set from Surrey storage. This reminds me several recent […]

Really exited reading Benjamin’s final paper and receiving more in-depth research questions. Glad to receive the rare items from UCSD, U of Chicago and China for Jonnathan, Noa and Gary. Cherry blossoms are late this year, so are the final weeks.

This program was nearby. I skipped lunch and tried to attend, but was almost stopped by a reference request on the way out. I felt guilty saying “no”, but did and rushed out. Besides the methods of relaxation, learning to say “no” really struck me. Quite often, I skip lunch or spend too much time […]

This year’s CEAL conference focused on the TS restructure, and we at UBC have been there and have done it. Keynote speech by Prof. Dai Jinhua, Friendship with my fellow CEAL members and ROM visit are some highlights of the trip. Thanks to Stephen’s invitation and arrangement, I was able to skip the official visit […]

The flight convinced me how large Canada is. It was late, but I am glad that the pilot didn’t take sick leave. Caught the airport express and arrived at Sheraton around midnight. Our room on the 17th floor faces the City Hall, the landmark building opened in 1965, and the only one I can recognize […]

Just finished the conference paper, and found time to come back here. Several events related to international students in the past weeks. Minister Wong visited us last week and mentioned: “49 high schools in China using the Canadian high school curriculum, some of those graduates may come to UBC”. Winnie brought a group of 15 […]

本来这里的冬天就不冷，而今年尤其如此。 阳光灿烂的日子很多。但是又有几位同行朋友离开。沁沁已经荣获西安大略大学的职位，朱磊乔迁硅谷，黄祺也将告别温哥华。假期忙着给他们送行，心中难免有些失落。但是，我们不都随着工作四海为家吗？收到他们的来信或者电话，语气中已经没有了最初的惆怅。 龙年将至，祝那些在温哥华相识相知的朋友们过得更好!

小时候去过很多次山西，只觉得大山里有洞可钻又有河的地方很好玩。那时不仅暑假在山里避暑，记得还被送到大寨参观。大学毕业前最后一次陪父母旅游又到了山西——太原、晋祠、五台山，至今印象深刻。记忆中的山西人纯朴、热情、友善。这次的交流项目将太原作为最后一站实在惬意。马跃、小宋、王馆带我们沿着宽阔笔直、布满霓虹灯的道路来到丹枫白鹭。 下榻的小酒店除了色彩亮丽的漆器家具，还有壁炉和书架。邱学长在等待安排房间的时候，已经便览《山西通志》啦。房间里温暖如春，似乎还有地热。看得出是省馆精心挑选了这个离会场有点距离的温馨之处。这对于离家月余、四出奔波的我尤其重要。 在山西，我找到了置身华夏山水之间的感觉，人们以自己的本土文化自豪， 告诉我们“五千年的文化要看山西”。莫非当年父母知道我一心想出国留学，带我走遍山西是有一番苦心的。 星期天，趁山西各地同行在太原集合报道的时候， 我们到了40公里以外的乔家大院。只在张艺谋的电影里见过，而这次亲临其境的感觉完全不同。从乾隆年间直到现在，那厚重的院墙，深不见底的院落和雕梁画栋的装饰让人流连。 那时的乔家就已经将金融生意遍布全球甚至走向世界了。家规、行规、大宅院的管理等等是有它一套的。 相比之下平遥古城展示的是State Power。我虽惊叹其保存完整，但衙门尤其是监狱的刑法展示让我觉得难以承受。风衣放在面包车里，车只能停在城外。到后来借得李博士的毛衣，又买了顶帽子，才坚持着走完平遥。满街的商业气息已经让我窒息，碍于导游小伙的劝导，也只好洒下些银子。但一定要不择手段，像大牌广告这样招揽生意吗？一个文化旅游胜地在国力许可的情况下，是否可以做出更有品位的商业呢？像当年平遥鼎盛的时候？

Thanks to Wuhan Library’s arrangement, we left skyscrapers and heavy traffic behind us, drove into a village–Da Yu Wan (大余湾）. The retired library head, Mr. Yu, in Huangpi, Hubei Province, entertained us proudly with his own rhymes about his and Mulan’s hometown. It’s a well-known historical place with a mountain, a river and a lake […]

Glad to see Wuhan as one of the stops of the TGAG trip. On top of the work, it’s like a reunion event. Jingxia successfully worked out the program held in her City Library, just like she brought her library into IFLA. I felt pressure after I saw the program package already in my hotel […]