Some Facts about Bridge to Asia Book Donation Transfer at Tongji University
"Since 1991 when the State Education Commission appointed us as a transfer station for Bridge to Asia, we have received 28 containers of books, 280,000 volumes by estimate. So far we have distributed about 200,000 volumes of foreign language books of original publication in various subjects to about 200 colleges and universities. The books are well received and treasured by students and teachers. Given the circumstance that every university library operates under short budget for acquisitions, donated materials have provided an important channel to cut expenses, enrich library collection of foreign language books of original publication, and supply students and teachers with valuable materials; therefore, we hope that this important book donation transfer work will become a long-term and stable operation. Professors from Fudan University told us that they have found quite a few 'treasures' among the donated books. Some professors use donated materials as texts and references. Frequently, we receive thank-you letters from colleges and universities who are recipients of the books transferred out of our station. Huzhou Teacher's College sent us a plague engraved with 'Unfolding a Bright Future.' In summary, it's obvious that this book donation program benefits the society greatly.The quality of some books is questionable, especially in the areas of computer sciences, math and sciences, and nursing. Some of the books are either outdated or appear battered and torn; as a result, at least 20% of books from each container are not distributable therefore have to be recycled. Some of the books have high volumes of multiple copies and aren't taken quickly enough by recipients therefore put pressure on our storage space."
Professor Xu Weihua at Tongji University in Shangahi, China