Accompanied by Lin Xiaoying, Deputy Director of Shanghai Friendship Association, Mr. Ma Yibai, Director of Culture Department of Italian Consulate General in Shanghai, and Ms. Lou Lishi, Cultural Commissionerof Italian Consulate General in Shanghai, visited Shanghai Library on the afternoon of June 3. Mr. Zhou Deming, Deputy Director of Shanghai Library, and Ms. Shen Liyun, Director of International Cooperation Division of Shanghai Library, received the guests and had a pleasant talk.

The visit comes from the Italian Consulate General's plan to donate a number of Italian books to Shanghai Library. Mr. Zhou expressed his gratitude to the Italian Consulate for its donation intention, which will help enrich the collection of the foreign language library of Shanghai Library. Mr. Ma Yibai also thanked Shanghai Library for its warm response.

Shanghai Library and Italian library have always maintained friendly exchanges. In August 2003, Shanghai Library established a long-term cooperation with the Central Library of Milan. During the live webcast of "the Night of Shanghai Library" on April 23 this year, Director of the Central Library of Milanrecommended the "32”16" of Giuseppe Cattocella, an Italian novelist, to Chinese readers through VCR. In November 2016, the Cultural Office of Italian Consulate General in Shanghai also held a Sino Italian cultural exchange forum in the Shanghai Library. Zhou said that there are works of Italian missionary Matteo Ricci in Bibliotheca Zi-Ka-Wei and sincerely invited Mr. Ma Yibai to visit the library.

On behalf of the consulate, Mr. Ma Yibai extended his thanks to Director Zhou for his invitation. At the same time, he said that he would try his best to invite representatives of famous Italian libraries to attend this year's SILF International Forum and the opening ceremony of next year's Shanghai Library (East) at the same time. He also planned to invite Italian experts in ancient books restoration to assist in the restoration of incunabula of Shanghai library. Both sides agreed that Shanghai Library and Italian library will have more space for cooperation and exchangein the future.

After the meeting, Mr. Ma Yibai and his party visited the Foreign Language Reading Room on the fourth floor.