ON October 31 2011, the Chinese President HU Jintao paid a visit in company with the Austrian President Heinz FISCHER to the Austrian National Library (Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, ÖNB) during his state visit to Austria.

The library tour was guided by Dr. Johanna RACHINGER, the executive director of the Austrian National Library, who also introduced to the Chinese guests the growing number of the cooperation programs between the ÖNB and libraries in China, including its partnership with the Shanghai Library. President HU said he was more than happy to see the vigorous cooperation and exchange between libraries in China and Austria, and was willing to push bilateral friendly cooperative relations in many dimensions to a new level for the benefit of both peoples.

Crowned as the largest library in Austria and one of the most prestigious libraries in the world, the Austrian National Library boasts a collection of more than 7 million items, including some 43,000 rare copies and 238,000 original manuscripts.

It came into the partnership with the Shanghai Library around the ‘Window of Shanghai’ program in April 2006, becoming home to the first batch of some 200 copies of the gift books sent from Shanghai. Additional books published in China were sent as supplements in subsequent years. Dr. RACHINGER said she was so grateful to receive the donations from the Shanghai Library, and she believed that these books would help build up a more comprehensive and updated understanding of China and Shanghai among the Austrian library users.