Libraries

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Libraries and archives in Mongolia are typically not well developed institutions. In many cases they are small, disconnected, and lack professionally trained staff. The best developed libraries are in the capitol, Ulaanbataar, and often receive significant help from foreign NGOs or governments.

Contents

[edit] National library

The Mongolian National Library in Ulaanbataar has a collection of about 4 million items including materials in numerous other languages. Their collection includes historical materials in Mongolian, Manchu, Tibetan, and Chinese.[1] There are also contemporary collections in German, Japanese, and Korean funded by non-profits from the respective countries in addition to a Soros Foundation funded English education room to help students prepare for language proficiency exams abroad. There is a United Nations depository reading room and 10 computers for Internet access. There are, however, only 2,349 books available for home loan.[2] The National Library also has a significant collection of photocopied pictographs and old xylographed books. It appears to be the only library in Mongolia with a significant role in training library personnel, however, there is no indication that anything more than the basics are being taught.[3]

A division of the National Library is the Children's Book Palace in Ulaanbataar. This library was established to help compensate for the original children's library being turned into a branch of the Mongolian Commercial Bank. It has an impressive collection of over 100,000 books in Mongolian, English, and Russian, in addition to three reading rooms. The reading rooms have titles like “Big Knowledge Man,” for younger children, “Dream,” for teenagers, and the “Education and Development” room with Internet access. The library has received the support of international organizations such as the Soros Foundation and Asian Development Bank.[4]

[edit] Public libraries

The Metropolitan Central Library of Ulaanbataar, sometimes also referred to as the Ulaanbataar Public Library, is a public library with a collection of about 500,000 items. It has an impressive 232,097 annual users and a total of 497,298 loans per year. It does charge users a registration fee of 3800 to 4250 tugrik, or about USD 3.29 to 3.68. While this is unfortunate, it is more understandable when one realizes that they operate on a budget under $176,000 per year. They also host websites on classical and modern Mongolian literature and food, in addition to providing free Internet access.[5]

In 1986 the Ulaanbataar government created a centralized system for all public libraries in the city, known as the Metropolitan Library System of Ulaanbaatar (MLSU). It is also known by its official name, Dashdorjiin Natsagdorj, who was the founder of modern Mongolian literature. This system coordinates management, acquisitions, finances, and policy among public libraries in the capital, in addition to providing support to school and children's libraries. [6] Other than the Metropolitan Central Library, the MLSU has four branch libraries. They are in the Chingeltei district (established in 1946), in the Han-Uul district (established in 1948), in the Bayanzurkh district (established in 1968), and in the Songino-Hairkhan district (established in 1991). There is also a Children's Central Library, which was established in 1979.[7]

[edit] University libraries

  • Library of the Agriculture University

[edit] Mobile libraries

There are Nomadic Libraries that serve the districts around Ulaanbataar. They are traveling libraries, funded by the Children's Friendship Center of Japan, which also do health checks and dispense vitamins when they distribute books to rural children.[8]

The Books for Asia program, sponsored by the Asia Foundation, has a mobile library that has traveled over 16,000 kilometers through every Mongolian province to distribute books.[9]

[edit] Digital libraries

The International Children's Digital Library (ICDL) is an organization that publishes numerous children's books in different languages on the web in child-friendly formats. In 2006 they began service in Mongolia and have made efforts to provide access to the library in rural areas. The ICDL effort in Mongolia is part of a larger project funded by the World Bank, and administered by the Mongolian Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, called the Rural Education And Development Project (READ).[10] Because Mongolia lacks a publishing industry, and few children's books, the idea has been to “spur the publishing industry to create 200 new children’s books for classroom libraries in grades 1-5.” After these books were published and distributed to teachers they were also published online with the rest of the ICDL collection. While a significant portion of this project is supported by outside sources, an important component is to include training of Mongolian staff in order to make it continue in an effective way.[11][12] The project is also designed to show Mongolia’s youth that they can take part in the larger digital culture.

The Press Institute in Ulaanbataar oversees the Digital Archive of Mongolian Newspapers. It is a collection of 45 newspaper titles with a particular focus on the years after the fall of communism in Mongolia.[13] The project was supported by the British Library's Endangered Archives Programme.

The Metropolitan Central Library in Ulaanbaatar maintains a digital Monthly News Archive.[14]

[edit] Special libraries

An important resource for academics is the American Center for Mongolian Studies (ACMS), also based in Ulaanbataar. Its goal is to facilitate research between Mongolia and the rest of the world and to foster academic partnerships. To help achieve this end, it operates a research library with a reading room and computers for Internet access. ACMS has 1,500 volumes related to Mongolia in numerous languages that may be borrowed with a deposit. It also hosts an online library that includes special reference resources and access to digital databases, including a digital book collection.[15]

There is a Speaking Library at School 116 for the visually impaired. This is a project funded by the Zorig Foundation, and the collection is largely based on materials donated by Mongolian National Radio. “A sizable collection of literature, know-how topics, training materials, music, plays, science broadcasts are now available to the visually impaired at the school.”[16]

The Mongolia-Japan Center for Human Resources Development maintains a library in Ulaanbaatar consisting of about 7,800 items. The materials in the collection have a strong focus on both aiding Mongolians studying Japanese and books in Japanese about Mongolia. It includes a number of periodicals, textbooks, dictionaries, and audio-visual materials. Access to the collection does require payment of a 500 Tugrug fee, though materials are available for loan. They also provide audio-visual equipment for collection use and internet access for an hourly fee. There is also an information retrieval reference service for questions that cannot be answered by their collection.[17]

[edit] Archives

National Archives


There is a manuscript collection at the Danzan Ravjaa Museum of theological, poetic, medicinal, astrological, and theatrical works. It consists of literature written and collected by the monk Danzan Ravjaa, who is famous for his poetry. The British Library's Endangered Archives Programme funded a project to take digital images of unique literature in the collection, however, it is not clear where the images are stored today.[18]

[edit] Preservation issues

[edit] Library NGOs

[edit] Further reading and links

[edit] References

  1. ↑ "Participant: Mongolian National Library." LALORC Project Survey, American Center for Mongolian Studies. No date. Accessed 1 July 2008.
  2. ↑ State Central Library of Mongolia. “Book Palace for Children.” CDNLAO Newsletter. 49 (2004). Accessed 7 May 2008.
  3. ↑ “National Library of Mongolia” Libraries of Asia Pacific Directory (2005). Accessed 7 May 2008.
  4. ↑ State Central Library of Mongolia. “Book Palace for Children.” CDNLAO Newsletter. 49 (2004). Accessed 7 May 2008.
  5. ↑ “Metropolitan Central Library of Ulaanbaatar” Libraries of Asia Pacific Directory (2005). Accessed 7 May 2008.
  6. ↑ "Library History." Ulaanbataar Metropolitan Central Library. 1 June 2002. Accessed 25 June 2008.
  7. ↑ "Metropolitan Central Library Named After D. Natsagdorj." Ulaanbataar Public Library, 1 June 2002. Accessed 25 June 2008.
  8. ↑ Mongolia Web News. “Nomadic Library Provides Medical Checks.” Montsame News Agency. 23 May 2006. Accessed 7 May 2008.
  9. ↑ Zavala, Melody. "Books are not Obsolete!" In Asia: Weekly Insights and Features from Asia Blog. Asia Foundation, Asiafoundation.org. 30 May 2008. Accessed 1 July 2008.
  10. ↑ "Rural Education and Development (READ) Project (formerly Rural Education Support Project)" World Bank. Accessed 1 July 2008.
  11. ↑ Bederson, Ben. “No Hotel, Tent: The International Children’s Digital Library Goes to Mongolia.” International Children's Digital Library, 2006. Accessed 7 May 2008.
  12. ↑ Bederson, Ben. “No Road, Drive: The ICDL Goes to the Mongolian Countryside.” International Children's Digital Library, 2007. Accessed 7 May 2008.
  13. ↑ University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee Libraries. “Digital Librarian Lends Expertise to Mongolian Project.” University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee Libraries Newsletter. 52 (2007). Accessed 8 May 2008
  14. ↑ "Monthly News Archive." Metropolitan Central Library. Accessed 25 June 2008.
  15. ↑ American Center for Mongolian Studies Library Homepage. American Center for Mongolian Studies, Ulaanbataar. Accessed 7 May 2008.
  16. ↑ Sumiyabazar, Ch. "Speaking Library at School No. 116." UB Post: Mongolia's English Weekly News. Thursday, November 08, 2007. Accessed June 6 2008.
  17. ↑ "Library." Mongolia-Japan Center for Human Resources Development Japan-center.mn. Accessed 29 June 2008.
  18. ↑ Humphrey, Caroline. "The Treasures of Danzan Ravja." The British Library Endangered Archives Programme. No date. Accessed 27 June 2008.
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