Library

Overview of the Library

The Guangzhou University library was merged by 5 academic libraries, including those of Guangzhou Normal College, the original Guangzhou University, South China Construction University (Western College), Guangzhou Education College and Guangzhou Teachers College in July 2000. Currently, the library buildings are composed of the main library at the University Town and the branch library at Guihuagang Campus with a total area of 52,000 square meters. As of December 2019, the total collections of the library amounted to 9,331,500 volumes of which 3,199,940 are printed books and 6,131,210 are e-books. The library also possesses 3,038 newspapers and periodicals as well as 294,316 hours of audio and video.

The library not only focuses on the collection of printed document resources but also gives impetus to the enrichment of digital resources. In 2019, it subscribed to 68 online databases which includes 32 Chinese databases and 36 foreign language databases. WOS, PQDT, Science Direct, Springer, EBSCO, SAGE full-text databases, China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database (China National Knowledge Infrastructure), Wanfang Data Resources and VIP Chinese Periodical Database and other well-known Chinese and foreign comprehensive databases are all included. The library is among the top in terms of total collection, especially in architecture, civil engineering, economics, and law, among all academic libraries in Guangdong province.

The library currently has 75 staff including 9 professors, 21 associate professors and 4 doctors. There are 57 faculty members with a bachelor’s degree or above which accounts for 76% of the faculty members in the library.

The library consists of administration office, resource construction department, cataloging department, Guangzhou document resource center, subject service department (Sci-tech Novelty Search Workstation), learning center, circulation and reading department, information service department, technical service department and Guihuagang Campus Branch.

The library constantly upholds the tenet of "reader first and service first" and implements the service mode of "integration of preserving, borrowing, reading and inquiry". It has 22 reading rooms with the purpose of preserving, borrowing, reading, inquiry, and searching, which can provide 3,326 seats in total. The library’s opening hours are from 6: 00 a.m. to 24: 00 p.m. daily (except public holidays). The library provides service up to 126 hours per week and is one of the academic libraries that provide the longest opening hours in China. It offers 7 days×24 hours constant service for network resources.

Special Service Program of the Library

1. Guangzhou Document Service

The Guangzhou Document Resource Center is a special local document resource center with reading, presentation, retrieval, and research functions. It mainly collects and preserves document resources for the region of Guangdong Province and Guangzhou and the related areas, such as Lingnan, the Pearl River Delta, Hong Kong and Macao, Chaoshan, Hakka, etc. The types of collection resources include books, newspapers, periodicals, audiovisual materials, electronic publications, databases, etc. This Center serves as an indispensable resource for teachers and students to carry out local studies.  

2. Inter-library Loan Service

The library has joined the inter-library loan system of ten universities in the Higher Education Mega Center and provides inter-library loan service. Meanwhile, it is also a member of the China Academic Social Sciences and Humanities Library (CASHL) and the China Academic Library and Information System (CALIS). The library provides document delivery services for all teachers and students through the above-mentioned systems and ensures the fulfillment of the information need of the majority with the help of a modern network service system.

3. Sci-tech Novelty Search Service

The library was approved by the Ministry of Education in November 2014 to establish a sci-tech novelty search workstation (Unified No. L38). It is one of the hundreds of academic libraries in China with the workstation permitted by MOE. Staff in the workstation, 8 full-time and 9 part-time, provide the services of novelty search of research project approval, achievement appraisal, award application, thesis and dissertation proposal as well as the services of source index and citation retrieval for the researchers inside and outside the university.

4. Patent Information Service

To support the scientific and technological innovation in universities and realize the integration of production, teaching, and research, Guangzhou University established an Intellectual Property Information Service Center in May 2019. It is affiliated to the library to conduct business and carry out services related to intellectual property rights and patent information, such as patent search, patent application, and patent analysis, etc.

5. Public Opinion Information Service

The library has initiated the program of media public opinion information service since 2002. Relying on the media database platform, it provides a series of public opinion information products represented by information express, information compilation, public opinion analysis and thematic database to relevant authorities in Guangzhou and offers personalized media public opinion information service for all sectors of society.

6. Personalized Book-Purchasing Service

To meet the diversified reading needs of teachers and students, the library has launched three personalized book-purchasing services for the readers: (1) the reader can recommend books to be purchased to the library through the Book Recommendation System; (2) by means of “on-the-go”, the reader can go to Guangzhou Book Centre or Xueeryou bookshop at Sun Yat-sen University in-person to select books and complete the book borrowing procedures on the spot; (3) through the YUNTAIGOU platform, readers can enjoy the "no fee purchase, no fee freight, home delivery" online purchasing service provided by the library.

Introduction to the National-Level Projects and Professor and Research Librarian

1. Projects at national level

2. Professor and Research Librarian

Professor Xueming Liu, born in August 1965 in Xingguo, Jiangxi, graduated from East China Normal University in 1985 with a bachelor's degree in history. He is the current Director of the Guangzhou University library and the Anti-Corruption Research Center. He was the former Secretary of the Party Committee and Deputy Dean of the School of Public Administration of Guangzhou University, and Deputy Director of the Development Strategy Research Institute of the Jiangxi Provincial Party School. His research focuses on public administration, public policy and anti-corruption governing. He has presided over two research projects funded by the National Social Science Fund of China to include the Research on the CPC’S historical experience of policy-making and implementation. He published four monographs to include the Process of Policy Operation and more than 100 articles or translation in Studies on Marxism, China Soft Science Magazine and other journals, among which 20 publications were reprinted by Xinhua Digest, Chinese Social Science Digest, and China University Academic Abstracts. His has won  second place prizes for three times and third prizes for six times at provincial and ministerial level, to include awards given by the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and more than 10 awards at the municipal level. He is also a Standing Director of China Association of Policy Science and the head of the Guangzhou Public Policy Research Association. He has been awarded the title Outstanding Young and Middle-aged Expert in Jiangxi Province, Outstanding Young and Middle-aged Philosophy and Social Science Worker in Guangzhou, and Outstanding Teacher in Guangzhou.

Xinge Ai, born in March 1975 in Xishui, Hubei, is a research librarian. He graduated from the School of Information Management at Central China Normal University in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in Information Science, and from the School of Information Management at Sun Yat-sen University in 2010 with a master’s degree in library science. He is the current Deputy Director of Guangzhou University library. His research areas include library information service, subject service bibliometrics, etc. He presided over one project supported by the National Social Science Fund of China, namely research on the public opinion information service of the Chinese library for government in the new media era, and five provincial-level or municipal-level projects. He has published approximately 30 articles in prestigious journals like the Journal of Academic Libraries, Library and Information Service, etc. He is one of the Executive Committee Member of the Library Society Guangdong and the Guangdong Scientific and Technological Information Society, a member of the Education and Training Committee of Guangdong Academic Library & Information Committee, and a Standing Director of the Library Society of Guangzhou.

Zheng Zhang, born in January 1975 in Xingning, Guangdong, is a research librarian. He graduated from the School of Information Management, Central Normal University with a bachelor's degree in 1998. He obtained his master's degree in library science from the School of Information Management of Sun Yat-sen University in 2010. He is the current Deputy Director of Guangzhou University library. He mainly focuses on research of media information service and reading promotion. He has presided over one project supported by National Social Science Fund of China, to include research on the library classical reading under the vision of cultural confidence in the new era, and 2 MOE of Humanities and Social Sciences projects, to include the research on the modes of “Internet + Classical reading” for college students based on the cultivation of socialism’s core value. He published more than 40 papers in journals to include the Journal of Library Science in China and Journal of Academic Libraries. He serves as an assessment expert for the National Social Science Fund of China and MOE Project of Humanities and Social Sciences. He is also a member of the Reading Promotion Committee of Guangdong Academic Library & Information Committee, and a member of the Academic Committee of the Library Society of Guangzhou. He won one third place prize in Guangdong Social Science Outstanding Achievement Award.

Yaowei Deng, born in October 1970 in Liuyang, Hunan, is a research librarian. He studied at the School of Information Science of Hunan Library and Information Science College, which is now merged into Hunan Normal University from 1985 to 1988. He studied at the Guangdong College of Technology (the current Guangdong University of Technology) majoring in computer and application from 1990 to 1993. He then took the correspondence course of library science from 1993 to 1996 and postgraduate courses from 1996 to 1999, both of which were offered by the School of Information Management of Wuhan University. He formerly served as Director and Deputy Director of Guangzhou University library and Secretary and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the library. He has been devoted to research on application of information technology in the library. One of these library information management systems has been developed and applied successfully under his leadership. He conducted in-depth researches in system development, management of CD attached with the book, database application, digital resource management, RFID application in the library, etc. He has published more than 20 articles in journals to include the Journal of Library Science in China and Library and Information Service, edited one book and participated in the edition of one textbooks. He joined in four national scientific research projects and presided over several provincial and municipal scientific research projects. The paper entitled The Key Issues in the Library RFID Application Interoperability won the second place prize of Guangdong Social Science Outstanding Achievements in 2017.

Yurong Zhuo, born in April 1963 in Wuhua, Guangdong, is a research librarian. He studied at South China Normal University from 1983 to 1985, Peking University (undergraduate and correspondence) from 1994 to 1997 and Wuhan University (postgraduate) from 2000 to 2002. He is currently the Director of the Subject Service Department as well as the MOE Sci-Tech Novelty Search Workstation. He has been engaged in information consultation and information service for several years and has undertaken the course of information retrieval for many of these years. Since 1996, he has served as Director of the department of the library. He has rich work experience in the organization and utilization of information resources, information resource sharing service, and reader education and training. He has hosted four major social science projects supported by the Guangzhou Higher Education Scientific and Technical Plan, to include analysis and research on the resource co-construction and sharing among the libraries in Guangzhou University Town. He has also participated in 16 projects and published 27 articles in journals to include Library and Information Service, Library Tribune, and four textbooks or books as deputy editor-in-chief and editorial board member.

Weihua Xiong, born in January 1970 in Yidu, Hubei is a research librarian. From 1987 to 1991, she studied at the Department of History of Northwest University and obtained her bachelor's degree in history. From 1991 to 1994, she studied at the School of Liberal Arts and Museum Sciences, Northwest University and obtained her master's degree in history. She worked as a teacher at the Department of History of the School of Liberal Arts and Museum, Northwest University from 1994 to 1998. In 1998, she came to Guangzhou Normal College and has been working there until today. During this period, she studied at the Institute of Chinese Cultural and Historical Book of Jinan University and obtained a PhD degree in history. She now serves as Director of the Guangzhou Document Resource Center and focuses on historical documentation and library science. She has presided over three projects supported by the Guangzhou Education Science Planning Program, e.g., Academic Library and search quotient cultivation of undergraduates, and participated several projects at all levels. She published more than ten papers in journals like Library Tribune and Academic Research.

Mei Yang, born in October 1968 in Nanchang, Jiangxi is a research librarian. In 1989, she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Science and Technology Information from the School of Library and Information Science of Wuhan University. She is the current Director of the Information Service Department of the Guangzhou University library. Her research area is information development and information service. She has hosted one MOE Project of Humanities and Social Sciences, namely research on the information guarantee for the rural migrant workers in the Process of Citizeniship, and one Guangzhou Social Science Planning Project. She published 19 articles in core journals such as Library and Information Service and Library Journal, and participated in the editing work of four books or textbooks.

Wenjing Li, born in June 1963 in Zhongshan, Guangdong, is a research librarian. In 1982, she graduated from Sun Yat-Sen University with a bachelor's degree majoring in Library Science. From 2009 to 2010, she was a domestic visiting scholar at the School of Information Management of Sun Yat-sen University. During this period, she completed the research project on Guangzhou Public Business Information Service. She has hosted two projects supported by Guangdong Planning office of Philosophy and Social Science, such as The Comparative Advantage of Guangdong University-Enterprise Technological Innovation and the Industry-University-Research Collaborative Innovation Based on Patent Information Analysis, and two projects supported by Guangzhou Education Bureau. She published ten papers in core journals, like Research on Library Science and Academic Research.

Liwu Wu, born in February 1963 in Fengcheng, Jiangxi, is a research librarian. From 1984 to 1986, he studied in Hunan University majoring in library and information science. From 1999 to 2001, he studied at Hunan Normal University majoring in English education. His main research areas are library science, information science, documentation, regional culture, united front theory, etc. He has hosted one project supported by Guangdong Planning office of Philosophy and Social Science, namely Research on the digital construction of Guangdong-Guangxi Writers’ Library and culture and art resources in the Cultural Cooperation in Pan- Pearl River Delta(PPRD), and participated in 22 scientific research projects at national, provincial (ministries) and municipal levels. He has published more than 50 papers in journals to include Library and Information Service, Library Work and Study, and edited or co-edited four books. He serves as a senior member of Library Material Professional and Technical Qualification Evaluation Committee of Guangdong or Guangzhou, an expert of Guangdong Cultural Information Society, a member of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee of Jiu San Society and a deputy director of its branch.