
The Cranston Public Library got some good news from the Confucius Institute at the University of Rhode Island. The Institute is offering a materials grant to establish a Chinese collection at the Central and Auburn branches of the library.
The library will catalog about $30,000 worth of materials to be added to the shelves over the next year. Included will be a large collection of DVDs with a wide variety of subjects ranging from kung fu, cooking, and dance to popular Chinese soap operas. There will also be language materials for those interested in learning Mandarin.
The Chinese-American population of Cranston is one of the fastest growing segments in the city. Between the 2000 U.S. Census and the 2007 American Community Survey the Chinese-American population in Cranston increased 281%.
The grant also establishes a partnership between Cranston Public Library, the Confucius Institute and the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Library and Information Studies. Cranston Public Library will host a graduate student from the newly created Certificate in Chinese and Global Information Services which is to be approved by URI.
And incidentally, 農曆新年. Happy Chinese New Year. The year of the tiger.
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