Pages of history

It has established a database with various categories including ancient local documents, precious books from the library's collection, genealogy and literary works in the Suzhou area. Users can access the database both at the library or by logging in from an external computer.

"From the very beginning, we set on developing a database that allows full-text retrieval, which is pioneering, considering that in many places the digitalization of ancient books means scanning the books into image formats," says Sun Zhongwang, head of the department of ancient books at Suzhou Library.

At the library's opening ceremony, Suzhou's five institutes recognized as national key units for ancient books protection — Suzhou Library, Changshu Library, Soochow University Library, Wujiang Library and Suzhou Museum — signed an agreement to work together in the further digitalization of ancient books.

"All these organizations have been working on the digitalization of ancient books, but there isn't a unified platform or a set of standards for us to share the results. With this agreement, we are hoping to establish a digital platform that stores and shares the information across Suzhou," Sun says.