Yan'an University Library: Bringing the Red Collection to Life
According to China News Service: 'Collecting, displaying, researching, and engaging' all in one, turning precious revolutionary historical materials into a 'walking ideological education classroom' that you can see, listen to, interact with, and study—this is how Yang Hongxia, the director of Yan'an University Library, describes the library's educational system: bringing the collection to life, passing on red culture, and making ideological education practical.
Yan'an University is the first comprehensive university established by the Chinese Communist Party. During the Yan'an period, the university library was quite large and well-organized, with nearly 200,000 books at its peak. In March 1947, when the Party Central Committee left Yan'an to move across northern Shaanxi, the library staff packed important books into 16 large wooden boxes, each containing about 100 to 200 books and weighing over 100 jin, carried by eight mules. They traveled across northern Shaanxi and Shanxi—wherever the team moved, the books went, and the service went too. The story of the 'library on horseback' has been passed down through generations, becoming a vivid symbol of the Yan'an spirit.
Exterior view of Yan'an University Library. Image source: China News Service
Coming out of the fires of revolution, generations of people at the Yan'an University Library have persisted in collecting and organizing red literature. Currently, the library holds over 20,000 types and more than 40,000 volumes of printed red literature, including a special red collection with over 7,000 types and more than 10,000 volumes.
Precious historical materials shouldn't just sit untouched in storage. To tackle the problem of old, faded documents from the Yan'an period that are hard to digitize, the school launched a digital project for revolutionary literature. Hundreds of undergrads and grad students got involved in typing and proofreading massive amounts of text. After eight years, they developed a digital research platform for red literature from the Yan'an era, turning dusty newspaper archives into searchable, readable, and research-friendly digital resources. “Building the database not only protects and passes down important historical documents of the Party, but also brings the people and events in those newspapers back to life,” said library researcher Jia Cuiling. This achievement is now being used in over 300 institutions across the country.
The Red Special Collection Library at Yan'an University. Image source: China News Service
The library’s role in education goes beyond its collection of revolutionary books; it’s also embedded in the quiet, everyday services. Activities like book-sharing sessions, “I Tell Red Stories” speech and reading competitions, classic reading gatherings, and database cultural and creative design are held regularly. The volunteer service platform recruits a large number of student volunteers to help with book organization and shelving, event planning, and supporting freshmen, turning readers into active participants in service. “The library’s role in education isn’t an empty concept, and it doesn’t rely on preaching. It’s about integrating education into every borrowing, every inquiry, every event, and every space, subtly influencing students and promoting their overall development,” said library staff member Li Yuan.
The red-themed literature reading area inside the library. Image source: China News Service
Today, the Yan'an University Library, besides the traditional reading rooms, also has smart discussion rooms, reading booths, AR/VR technology experience zones, and other diverse spaces, with hardware resources complementing its red-themed resources. Yang Hongxia said that in the future, the library will continue to focus on red resources, ideological and political education, and academic services, highlighting its defining feature of 'preserving red heritage and nurturing a new generation.' The goal is to build a high-level, distinctive university library that’s warm with red spirit, rich in educational impact, and strong in service.