The Shanghai Library houses more than 13 million books, ranking second in the country and among the top ten libraries in the world. It is famous for collecting genealogies, letters, modern Chinese and English newspapers and periodicals, rubbings, etc. It also collects some ancient and modern Chinese and foreign music, opera records, tapes and so on. The Shanghai Library is equipped with a world-advanced computer management system.
Borrowing books is done through computers, and an automatic trolley transmits books from the stacks to readers. There are more than 20 large-scale special reading rooms such as ancient books, documents, comprehensive, newspapers, and social sciences, with more than 3,000 seats. There are also supporting facilities such as a catalog hall, bookstore, restaurant, bar, exhibition hall, video hall, and conference hall. The Shanghai Library was established in 1952. The old site is located at the intersection of Huangpi Road and Nanjing Road. In 1996, a new library was built on Middle Huaihai Road. The new library covers an area of 3.1 hectares, with a construction area of 83,000 square meters and a stack area of 40,000 square meters. The main building is composed of two high-rise buildings and an annex. The east and west buildings are multi-dimensional stepped block-shaped, symbolizing the solid foundation of cultural accumulation and the continuous climbing of human beings in pursuit of knowledge. Among the large number of Chinese and foreign ancient and modern books and materials it has collected, many are precious revolutionary documents, such as “On Protracted War”, “On New Democracy”, and the magazine “Consciousness”. Opening hours: Open from 13:30 to 17:00 on Mondays throughout the year; Open from 09:00 to 17:00 from Tuesday to Sunday throughout the year; Open from 09:00 to 16:00 on New Year’s Day. On January 1, 2025 (New Year’s Day), reference for book/journal retrieval: 9:00 – 15:30. The opening hours of the library card office, the reading room for collected documents, the Chinese social science periodicals room, the Chinese science and technology periodicals room, the foreign social science periodicals room, the foreign science and technology periodicals room, the reading room for modern and local documents, and the reading room for ancient books and genealogies are from 13:30 to 17:00 on Mondays and from 9:00 to 17:00 from Tuesday to Sunday. The opening hours of the comprehensive reading room, study room, social science library room, science and technology library room, and newspaper and magazine room are from 13:30 to 20:30 on Mondays and from 9:00 to 20:30 from Tuesday to Sunday. The opening hours of the comprehensive cashier desk, reference library room, special literature service point, and basic collection newspaper and periodical service point are from 9:00 to 17:00 from Tuesday to Sunday. The specific business status is subject to the opening situation on that day.Shanghai Library
The Shanghai Library houses more than 13 million books, ranking second in the country and among the [...]
