THE Shanghai Library 60th Anniversary Celebration Week worked up to a climax as it drew to the close when a retrospective symposium was held in the morning of Friday July 20.

Chaired by Mr. Mu Duanzheng, the chairman of the Shanghai Library Council, the symposium began with reading of the congratulatory letters sent by leading officials from both the Central and local government, including the member of the CPC Central Politburo and the CPC Shanghai Committee Secretary Mr. Yu Zhengsheng, the vice chairperson of the National Women’s Federation Mrs Chen Zhili, the vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Mr. Xu Kuangdi, the Shanghai Mayor Mr. Han Zheng, as well as from chief librarians from major public libraries of the country.

Participants of the symposium also included representatives from the state and city authorities such as the Ministry of Culture, the National Cultural Resources & Information Sharing Project, the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture, Radio, Movie & TV; the local government departments and agencies such as the CPC Shanghai Municipal Administration of Cultural Affairs, the Municipal Civility Office, the Youth League, the Women’s Federation, and the Disabled person’s Federation; libraries at the provincial and municipal level; the business partners, the library patrons and the media.

Last but not least, there were a group of special attendees, who hailed the day as a lifetime big day – the retired staff who had dedicated many of their best years to the Library.

Mr. Yang Zhenwu, a member of the CPC Shanghai Standing Committee and chief of the city’s cultural authority, attended and addressed the meeting. In his remarks he called on the Library to solidify its conviction and resolution to provide quality public service through reform and innovation, and to make greater contribution to the city’s innovation-driven transformation towards the objective of a cultural metropolis.

The symposium also witnessed the opening of the retrospective exhibition “A Memoir of 60 Cantabile Years”, unveiled by Shanghai Library Director Wu Jianzhong, Shanghai Museum Curator Mr. Chen Xiejun and the deputy director of the Development & Management Center of the National Cultural Resources and Information Sharing Project Ms. Liu Huiping. A short movie titled “Spirit of Books” tailored for the Library’s 60th anniversary also made its debut at the symposium.