Mochtar Riady Library Inaugurated

The inauguration of the Mochtar Riady Library took place on April 22 at Tsinghua University.

Mr. Mochtar Riady, founder and chairman of the Lippo Group , Ms. Wang Xiaoping, Deputy Director of Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, Tsinghua University President Qiu Yong, former President of Tsinghua Gu Binglin, academician Guan Zhaoye from the School of Architecture, and Director of Tsinghua University Library Deng Jingkang attended the opening ceremony, hosted by Tsinghua Vice President Yang Bin.

In conjunction with the Yifu Library, the new library will provide a warm and attractive environment to all Tsinghua students and faculty, facilitating education, research, and academic exchanges.

As of April 20, the new library is open to students and faculty on a limited access basis, while renovation and preparatory work continues.

The Mochtar Riady Library, located on the north side of the Tsinghua University Library, was officially completed at the beginning of 2016, following a groundbreaking ceremony on April 23, 2011, Tsinghua’s 100th Anniversary Day.

Professor Guan Zhaoye, a scholar of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, designed the library. In contrast to the western classical style of the other old libraries standing nearby, the Mochtar Riady Library has adopted a modern and functional design. Inside it interconnects with the Yifu Library, making a shared service possible.

The library building covers an area of about 15,000 square meters, and is capable of holding in excess of 600,000 books in both Chinese and foreign languages. It includes the areas such as “New Arrivals This Week” and “Theme Shelves”. More than 800 seats are provided for users of the library.

(Photo by Yu Haitong)

Skylights in personal study rooms allow users to enjoy blue skies during the day, and starry skies at night while reading. The 20-square-meter group study rooms provide conference tables and chairs made of solid wood, as well as television screens and projectors.

A leisure reading area on the first floor is designed for small discussion groups. It features an open lounge area where library users can enjoy sofas and sunshine while browsing newly arrived books.

Exhibition, and innovation experience area are also available.

Two courtyards and a sunken square help to broaden the outdoor leisure activities on university campus.

(From Office of Global Communications and Outreach)