Today is the Chinese New Year 2012, the start of the Year of the Dragon. London’s main celebrations will be held on 29 January. You can find out more about the parade, ceremony and fireworks on Visit London.
And it seems like a great time to tell you more about Westminster’s Chinese Library, right in the heart of the West End. With London’s Chinatown being located just off Leicester Square and attracting the Chinese community from across London and the South-East, it is no surprise that the Chinese Library service is based at Charing Cross Library and holds one of the largest collections of Chinese materials in any UK public library.
What can we offer?
- Over 50.000 Chinese adult and children’s books for loan and reference, including the most popular fiction books and top sellers. There are books by Chinese authors and popular Western writers in translation. Romance stories are very popular, as are Kung Fu thrillers and Manga series in translation.
- The non-fiction collection covers all areas, including art, business, history, social life and travel.
- There are also more than 80 different kinds of magazines and periodical publications plus Chinese pop and classical music CDs.
- Community information and general enquiry answering, with a team of Chinese speaking staff (Cantonese and Mandarin)
- CLSS – a national subscription service of Chinese books. We lend selected bulk collections to other library authorities for a fee to build up their Chinese library services.
All that, and more, behind a somewhat unassuming exterior on Charing Cross Road
- come along and see us.
And Happy New Year!
[Chichy]
