Columbia University Libraries/Information Services (CUL/IS) has announced the opening of the CADAL (China Academic Digital Associative Library) database of 1.75 million Chinese e-books to Columbia University.
The CADAL, which originated from the China-US Million Book Digital Library Project, is one of the two major consortia academic libraries in China with partnership ties to more than 70 Chinese university libraries, including the top 10. Its database is recognised as the largest and most significant repository for e-book resources of material published during the Chinese Republican Period from 1911-1949.
CADAL resources include valuable research materials in sciences, social sciences, humanities, medicine, agriculture, architecture, and arts.
CUL/IS formed a partnership with CADAL in 2010 and has contributed its own unique digital resources to the CADAL database, such as the Ling Long Women's Magazine, Shanghai, 1931-1937 and Chinese Paper Gods Collection during the 1930s. Other planned joint projects include the digitisation of the titles in Columbia's microfilm collection that do not exist in the CADAL database, and the transfer of the other related digital resources from Columbia to CADAL.
CUL/IS is one of the top five academic research library systems in North America. The collections include over 12 million volumes, over 160,000 journals and serials, as well as extensive electronic resources, manuscripts, rare books, microforms, maps, and graphic and audio-visual materials. The services and collections are organised into 22 libraries and various academic technology centers, including affiliates.
