Acquisition Policy

As stated above, the aim of the founders of the Library of the Western Belvedere at Fuzhou University is to establish the first library in China specialized in the humanities of the West through the systematic acquisition of all the important and representative works in their original language, together with the most important scholarly studies related to these works as well as, when available, their Chinese and English translations, and by making these sources available to educators, researchers, students and interested members of the public all over China. In addition to books, the Library collects graphic artworks, which are shown in her exhibition room.

For the book collection, a distinction exist between the core collection of books of the humanities and the social sciences of the West according to the principles outlined hereunder and the general collection of reference works, secondary literature, minor authors, journals, technical manuals, etc. However, both kinds are catalogued together and kept with the same great care. 
 

Priority is given to the acquisition of books for the core collection. These are works that can be defined as being fundamental and representative in the fields of literature, philosophy, religion, history, art, music and archaeology. Important classical works in the social sciences of psychology, anthropology, ethnology, economics, sociology, linguistics, etc., will also be placed in the core collection. Ideally, this collection should comprise only valuable books in the best editions. In keeping with this aim, all funds provided through subsidies from public or private benefactors should be used primarily for the purchase of books of the core collection, following our established acquisition plan that has clear priorities in all the relevant fields and languages. As many of the works that should be present in our collections are no longer in print, the majority of our acquisitions will be made in second-hand books. This not only demands much research in the holdings of antiquarian booksellers but also makes estimations of costs rather difficult. Many second-hand books are cheaper that new ones, but many are also far more expensive.

To gifts of books and graphic artworks that are made by donors, similar restrictions as to the nature of the acquisition do not apply. Western books being still scarce in China, the Library welcomes all donations of books in Western languages, even if they happen to be of lesser importance or interest or are redundant with those of the core collection. These books, together with all general reference works, guides and works of a more technical nature are included and catalogued in the "general collection."
The Library of the Western Belvedere will make all its holdings available to the public, either in its reading rooms, through lending or, as far as the copyright allows, by copying. In addition to these services, the library has an educational program in language training and library science. It will moreover make efforts to provide the necessary materials to bona fide researchers, and exceptionally, acquisitions may be made in order to assist specific research programs in China.