A delegation of the Library of Heihe University (China) visited the Research Library of Tomsk State University. The visit agenda included a tour of the library and a meeting to discuss the prospects for cooperation.
The deputy director of the TSU Research Library Tatyana Polezhaeva and the librarian of the International Resource Center Hu Yanping, who acted as the main translator, held an excursion for the director of the Library of Heihe University Ning Yanhong and the library employee Gao Yan. The guests were impressed by modern spaces, opportunities for students and researchers, the architecture of the historic building, and the rare editions in the Book Museum.
The director of the TSU Research Library Artyom Vasiliev, director of the Center for Testing and Studying Russian as a Foreign Language of the TSU Institute of Distance Education Daria Tarakanova, head of the department of sociocultural communications of TSU Research Library Larisa Kurbatova took part in the working meeting with the Chinese delegation together with Tatyana Polezhaeva and Hu Yanping.
As part of joint educational activities, Chinese colleagues learnt about the capabilities of the Center for Testing and Studying Russian as a Foreign Language, which can be opened at Haihe University. Outlining options for cooperation, the participants discussed the issues of sharing digital resources of libraries, joint events to popularize reading within the framework of World Book and Copyright Day “Reading Chinese and Russian Classics”, exchange of experience in the field of rare books and restoration, participation in professional events and scientific conferences, organization of scientific exchanges, publications in magazines.
– As the methodological center of fifty university libraries in Western Siberia, it is important for us to build a new vector of effective interlibrary interaction and discuss the nearest prospects for cooperation with Chinese colleagues. We are interested in the exchange of resources, the exchange of experience in the format of internships and online events, – emphasized Artyom Vasiliev. – We have many students and citizens who study Chinese, we have a Chinese speaking club in the library, and we are very interested in information support for this process.
Ning Yanhong, the Director of the Library of Heihe University, expressed particular interest in publishing in TSU scientific journals and monographs at the university publishing house. Chinese colleagues were invited to speak at an online event on library interaction, scheduled for October 2026.
The meeting at the TSU Research Library was organized as part of the visit of the Chinese delegation to the Research Library of Tomsk Polytechnic University, a member of the Russian-Chinese Library Union.
Text and photo by TSU Research Library