Gift from Shanghai: the “Window of Shanghai” Ceremony

A ceremony to open the “Window of Shanghai” was held October 25, 2006 in the Director’s Office, McLennan Library Building.

Montreal and Shanghai became sister cities in 1985 and since then many cooperative activities have been carried out between the two cities. “Window of Shanghai” is a program initiated by the Shanghai Library to promote friendly relationships with overseas libraries which either have cooperative programs with the Shanghai Library or are in the sister cities of Shanghai.

To start the “Window of Shanghai” project, the Shanghai Library sent approximately 500 books to the McGill Library as the first batch of gifts. Another 200 volumes will arrive during the next two years. The titles were selected by the faculty members of the East Asian Studies Department at McGill. These books cover various subject areas such as literature, culture, arts, economy, architecture, religion and history.

The Deputy Director of the Shanghai Library, Mr. Deming Zhou, and the Trenholme Director of McGill Library, Ms. Janine Schmidt, “opened” the “Window of Shanghai” at the ceremony. Faculty members of the East Asian Studies Department, Professor Grace Fong and Professor Robin Yates, expressed their appreciation of the gift. Macy Zheng, the East Asian Studies Liaison Librarian outlined the project and expressed McGill’s interest in other cooperative programs between the two libraries in the future.

To acknowledge receipt of the gifts, a gift plate has been placed in each book. All people in Montreal are welcome to use the books in the library. These books can be accessed by searching McGill’s online catalogue. Members of the Shanghai delegation were very impressed that the professors and students at McGill are so enthusiastic about the teaching and learning of Chinese culture, and they were glad that the books they sent to McGill will be very useful to McGill Library users.

See the event description posted on the Shanghai Library website.

Link to the Shanghai Library

Ms. Janine Schmidt and Mr. Deming Zhou