We started our visit by listening to a talk by Jeremy in the foyer of the British Library.
My impressions of the British Library were that there were plenty of places to sit. The entrance area felt very open and democratic. There were highly illuminated areas and also lower lit calming spaces as well. The architectural space consisted mostly of a formal arrangement of squares and diagonal forms punctuated by plants and curved surfaces. I read on a plaque that the library was opened in 1998 yet is somehow feels 20 years older! It is classic yet modern in feel. The side walls feature ocular windows, back lit translucent signs and ceiling spots with a soft gentle focus. The ancient books within the towering central bookcase form a viewpoint with which the other spaces surround, somewhat like a huge wide tree of knowledge.
There were standing rests, long benches and traditional seating. The spaces seemed to define the amount of friendliness/or warmth. The initial impression was being greeted by a security guard to check my bag. A formality I am used to in going to museums and public places in London. Then the courtyard space which echoes the sounds of shoes and people crossing in different directions.
The room to search the catalogue and register was quite non-descript, with a bossy english woman who had little patience for people it would seem who might struggle with english. I would say the choice of person should be more inviting and helpful than short and commanding. The woman at BL reader registration was knowledgeable, engaging and friendly. She stated that she already had my details as I had already registered as a reader in 2007! "Yes we have your details already and your reader number never changes! Last time you were looking for work related research! We know quite a bit about you!" She went on to talk about books being vandalised, not always by young people but well established academics who might want to add an extra page from a rare book to their own collection! Her position I think on the whole was positive as she got to talk about the collections and resources available.
The coat room was more relaxed and sombre, with a somewhat disinterested cloakroom attendant. Surely somehow working in a cloakroom must somehow be made more fun, right? After all they are meeting interesting people from all walks of life all day and guarding their valuables...though I suspect that the readers may get grumpy and irritated by handing over possessions and being restricted from taking other possessions into the reading rooms. I wonder whether giving them skills to interact, comment on valuables, and lighten the apprehension of readers may make them more co-operative in complying with the rules. You can take in a notepad, but not pens, pencils are ok, plus sharpeners too. Oh, no camera is not allowed, not even allowed in the cloakroom, you'll have to take that to the locker, yep, you'll need a pound for the locker, then you can go to one of the reading rooms!
The entrances to the reading rooms were also checkpoints to see that people entering were registered readers. Plus they were also there to check that books were not being smuggled out. They also seemed formal, and think that they actually should give an air of formality to prime readers to be quiet and behave appropriately in the space. They have to watch what people say and what they hold on their shifts, and watch out for things that people are doing incorrectly rather than correctly. It is not their job to be commending.
The attendants behind the counters in the reading rooms, are quiet, formal and bureau-like, however they are helpful and knowledgeable too. It seems that some of the knowledge is more easily available by asking them than spending too much time searching. I contrast these people with my own local surrey library which is more friendly and community-like, although probably certainly not as knowledgeable or academic.
Catalogue searches to related areas of study:
1. Interactive Learning - (Shelfmark 371.3 21)
2. Criteria for device selection:
comparison between mouse and touchscreen as an input device for interactive video. (621.39 22)
3. Account of the structure of Chinese characters (W5/4084.DSC) [ordered in for 2 days from offsite.]
4. The contributions of guided interactive reading to the development of reading skills and attitudes towards reading skills and attitudes towards reading in Chinese learners. (015927161 PDF format)
I went to the African and Asian studies reading room as this matched most of my areas of interest.
I looked at this book from browsing:
The Garland Encyclopaedia of World Music, Volume 7, East Asia: China, Japan and Korea
Robert C.Provine, Yoshiko Tokumaru, and J.Lawrence Witzleben. Routledge, New York & London 2002.
I looked at the musical genres and instruments as I wanted to see if music could be an aid to my studies into learning interactively.
I extracted these listings for instruments and genres:
Qin
Pipa
Zheng
Erhu
Yangqiu
Dizi / Xiao
Sheng
Percussion
Folk song (Qiao)
Chinese Opera
Peking Opera
Cantonese Opera
Shanghai Opera/
Confucian ceremonial music
Taiwanese music
A diagram of graphical notation for Chinese caught me eye on p332, figure 5.
Graphic Notation for faqi or dharma percussion instruments.
There were mentions of music of the different minorities as well.
I searched the BL catalogue and found the Dunhuang collection which I want to find out more about. It is a collection of manuscripts about life for the people of the Silk Road.
I also found out about the Stein collection, and that an early dictionary was created for learning Chinese compiled by John Robert Morrison in the 19th century. This led me to think about the history and evolution of the Chinese English dictionary, to think about when European and American scholars first selected to translate Chinese manuscripts and texts, write notes, and contact publishers to publish printed dictionaries for Western societies. Perhaps I should also look to see if early French or German to Chinese dictionaries pre-date the British English to Chinese dictionaries.
There are also English Chinese dictionaries in the Science area for lists of technical terms such as Traditional Chinese Medicine and Chemistry compounds. These books are much newer and in better condition, than the antique dictionaries in the African and Asian studies room.
There is an email address for related queries: chinese-enquiries@bl.uk
I thought about searching the Archival Sound Recordings in Humanities to see if I could find any related sound recordings.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I returned again to the British Library on Saturday:
I read a research paper 'Criteria for Device Selection':
A comparison between a mouse and a touchscreen as an input device for Interactive Video by GE Pretor-Pinney and RE Renger. 26 March 1990
National Physical Laboratory Division of Information Technology and Computing
6029.319000
The research study is a scientific ergonomic comparison between the use of a touchscreen and a mouse by a novice and expert users. Speed, accuracy and reported ease of use of the devices by the participants in completing four tasks.
- Large target selection
- Small target selection
- Menu selection
- Object manipulation
The summary was that mouse users completed the small target selection in faster time, and the touchscreen users completed the large target selection, menu selection, and object manipulation in faster time.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I also collected Volume I of the book 'A Dictionary of the Chinese Language', (in three parts)
By Robert Morrison, 1815
Vol I. Macao.
Printed by the East India Company's Press
Volume II was printed in 1822.
I requested a photocopy of the cover and as this is older than 1850, I will collect this as a photocopy from a member of the British Library staff.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
British Library Visit Question:
What are the purposes of a library/archives in the 21st Century?
- To hold precious books and reference materials that require restoration and preservation.
- To participate in digitisation of archives to make the materials available to the public.
- To hold academic knowledge that is authenticated and validated for accuracy.
- As a place for the public and educationalists to meet at events
- To connect and share collections with other libraries and archives around the globe
- Provide outreach programmes for schools and colleges
No comments:
Post a Comment