Page 74 - JOURNAL OF LIBRARY SCIENCE IN CHINA 2015 Vol. 41

Jianxin GU, Fang TIAN & Lei SHI / Research on Hong Fanwu’s remarkable contribution to the modern library cause of China 073

1935, planning and preparing library affairs meticulously, pushing library works steadfastly.
Hong spared no effort to supply collections; he purchased rare books and manuscripts, subscribed
for more than 400 foreign magazines, complemented important periodicals of Britain, America,
Germany and France. The university provided funds for purchasing books and periodicals to the
greatest extent, although it retrenched all the expenses at that time. Hong stipulated explicitly on
expenditure of funds in books purchasing to ensure reasonable and effective using. There were two
ways to select books, course reserves and books on special disciplines were chosen and introduced
by professors, and the general reference books and books specialized on Library Science were
purchased by librarians. Up to May 1937, the collections, in Central University Library, of books
and periodicals in Chinese, western languages, and Japanese had counted up to 407 203 copies,
including 186 617 copies of books, 218 778 of periodicals and 1 808 of other documents (Zhang,
1998). There were abundant Chinese rare books, and a lot of rare copies in western language
books, for example, French paintings of the sixteenth through the eighteenth century (scattered
sheets bound in a volume), figures of Buddha and sutras of Tang-Song period in Dunhuang
Grottoes (published from 1914 to 1924, six volumes, bound scattered sheets), hundreds of British
ancient architectural patterns which were rubbed of original edition from 1821 to 1838 (Luo,
1936).
After the July 7 Incident of 1937, since Central University was bombed by Japanese, President
Luo Jialun decided to remove staff, books, instruments and appliances westwards. Hong Fanwu
leading his colleagues transported all the books to Chongqing, overcoming all difficulties in
the crisis, and built a new library on the top of Songlin Slope, which became the most complete
university library in the rear during the period of Anti-Japanese War, ensuring the required
pabulum of the university. In 1946, he carried all the books back to Nanjing and restructured the
library, making sure that Central University opened in time after moving back. President Luo
Jialun pointed out in the preface of Proceedings of Library Science that the colleagues of the whole
university made great efforts to carry all the books outside and back, while “Fanwu’s efforts in
difficulties have to be commended because he made a real contribution to academia and should
never be forgotten” (Luo, 1968, preface).

2.3 Open reading, improving service

Hong Fanwu suggested that “library was founded to prepare books for studying, assisting
deficiencies of education. Thus, scholarship could be updated and culture could be improved. This
kind of contribution to society and country was really remarkable. And current library should not
be the same as Zunjing Pavilion in Song dynasty or Wenlan Pavilion in Qing dynasty; it should
be open to the public instead of simply preserving books” (F. W. Hong, 1968, p.25). He made
corresponding rules of borrowing, reserving and reading books wherever he went, to ensure the