Vendor List for Chinese Materials
Annie Wang (local)
Booklinx
630.548.9360
[email protected]
Actrace.com
14271 Jeffrey Rd #191
Irvine, CA 92620
1-800-399-9786
[email protected]
www.actrace.com
China Books & Publications
(718) 961-7107
43-12 Main Street
1st Fl.
Flushing, NY 11355
[email protected]
For materials from Mainland China
World Journal
(718) 445-2665
136-19 38th Ave.
Flushing, NY 11354
[email protected]
For materials from Taiwan
Oriental Cultural Enterprise
(212) 226-8461
13-17 Elizabeth Street
2/F
New York, NY 10013
[email protected]
For materials from Hong Kong and China
ChinaSprout,Inc.
(718) 786-8890
34-01 38th Avenue, 3rd Fl
Long Island City, NY 11101
http/www.chinasprout.com/shop
For Chinese Juvenile books
Tsai Fong Books, Inc. (Books Window)
BooksWindow.com
713-974-6226
[email protected]
3711 Briarpark
Ste 200
Houston, TX 77042
Minutes are being repeated here as so useful>
World Languages Networking Group
Meeting Minutes February 26, 2014
The meeting was held at Vernon Area Public Library in Lincolnshire. Thirteen people were in attendance. The topic of the meeting was "Chinese Language Collection Development and Promotion."
We talked via Skype with Maria Fung, a native Chinese speaker with 35 years of experience as a selector of world languages for Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) and New York Public Library (NYPL). We had provided Maria with several questions in advance of our meeting and we had a very helpful and informative session with her. Some of Maria's key points in response to the questions we gave her are listed below. Her responses apply mainly to adults, but may be helpful for children's collections as well.
What is the difference between Traditional and Simplified Chinese books and how does this affect collection development?
Traditional Chinese is a character set developed between 200 BC and 200 AD and is used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. It is read left to right and top to bottom. Simplified Chinese was implemented in 1946 when the Communists took over to make it easier for more people to learn to read and write. It is read from right to left, across the page. Simplified Chinese is used in mainland China and Singapore. People who can read Traditional Chinese can also read Simplified. People who read Simplified cannot easily read Traditional.
From a publication standpoint, most books published in mainland China are Simplified. Most books published in Taiwan and Hong Kong are Traditional. From a production standpoint, more books are published in Mainland China.
We had a bit of a debate concerning the best percentage breakdown for Simplified vs. Traditional. For our purposes, the breakdown recommended by local vendor Annie Wang, is probably the most useful: 70% Simplified and 30% Traditional.
Do Chinese patrons prefer to read native Chinese authors over Chinese translations of popular or classic English works?
According to Maria, diversity is good, but the majority prefer native Chinese authors. However, very well known English books and authors (i.e. Harry Potter) are also popular.
What kinds of Chinese fiction and nonfiction are the most popular?
The collection should be split 50/50 between fiction and nonfiction as both are equally important. The biggest areas of interest are:
Older people are especially interested in books on Chinese history, biographies and World War II.
Regarding Chinese children's books, most are targeted to preschool through 3rd grade. Dual language classics or Chinese translations of classics are helpful for high school students.
Regarding fiction, love stories and romances are popular. Graphic novels by a particular author mentioned by Maria are also popular. (This author's name should be in a handout that will eventually be posted to our website).
What classic Chinese works are essential to have?
Works by Confucius and other masters as well as "academic" titles are very expensive. It is more practical and economical to depend on Interlibrary Loan for these types of books.
While people may be happy to see works considered to be "modern classics" in the collection, these books may not circulate much. People prefer more popular titles. Maria did provide a list of popular romance titles and popular authors but it was in Chinese. We are trying to put it in a more usable format and will post it to the website.
Are there lists of Chinese literature prize winners that we should know about?
Maria provided a list in Chinese which we will try to translate and post to the website. Vendors can be helpful in identifying the most popular books.
Any recommended vendors?
Although Maria prefers to use local vendors, it may be helpful to use the same vendors as larger libraries like Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Queens in order to get a better idea of what is popular and current.
Maria provided a vendor list which is attached.
Are there any websites for bestsellers in China?
www.dangdang.com
Mainland China
http://www.books.com.tw/
Taiwan
http://www.suplogistics.com.hk/
Hong Kong
A question was raised concerning audio books but Maria does not order non print items.
The issue of cataloging was also raised. BPL and NYPL have their own catalogers and Maria orders Chinese books on a monthly basis. She suggested that it might be helpful to order six months "behind" the bigger libraries which allows time for the records to appear in OCLC. Many vendors also supply cataloging records.
Annie Wang, formerly a university librarian in China and currently the owner of Booklinx in Lisle, discussed her services and answered questions. Important points included:
Zheng Cai, an author and native of China and a Vernon Area patron, also attended our meeting and shared his opinions and insights. Mr. Cai said that ideally, every library would have Chinese speaking staff or volunteers. He noted his frustration with the lack of particular memoirs and the works of the "best" modern writers in the collections he has seen locally. Some of these writers may be in the list provided by Maria.
Lucia Doyle recommended some additional vendors:
"Here is another vendor for Chinese product: Cheng & Tsui (Boston, MA). They are good for language learning and academic titles. They have a good website. Also, I forgot to mention that BEA 2015 (Book Expo) in New York will feature Chinese publishers in their Global Forum Market. Here is a link to that announcement:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bea/article/60912-bea-to-host-china-at-2015-show.html
This year they are doing something with regards to translations. Here is another link:
http://bookexpoamerica.com/en/Press-and-News/Press-Releases/BookExpo-America-Announces-Plans-For-Global-Market-Forum-2014/
A question I forgot to ask, and others may be interested in knowing is where Chinese eBooks are?"
Annie Wang (local)
Booklinx
630.548.9360
[email protected]
Actrace.com
14271 Jeffrey Rd #191
Irvine, CA 92620
1-800-399-9786
[email protected]
www.actrace.com
China Books & Publications
(718) 961-7107
43-12 Main Street
1st Fl.
Flushing, NY 11355
[email protected]
For materials from Mainland China
World Journal
(718) 445-2665
136-19 38th Ave.
Flushing, NY 11354
[email protected]
For materials from Taiwan
Oriental Cultural Enterprise
(212) 226-8461
13-17 Elizabeth Street
2/F
New York, NY 10013
[email protected]
For materials from Hong Kong and China
ChinaSprout,Inc.
(718) 786-8890
34-01 38th Avenue, 3rd Fl
Long Island City, NY 11101
http/www.chinasprout.com/shop
For Chinese Juvenile books
Tsai Fong Books, Inc. (Books Window)
BooksWindow.com
713-974-6226
[email protected]
3711 Briarpark
Ste 200
Houston, TX 77042
Minutes are being repeated here as so useful>
World Languages Networking Group
Meeting Minutes February 26, 2014
The meeting was held at Vernon Area Public Library in Lincolnshire. Thirteen people were in attendance. The topic of the meeting was "Chinese Language Collection Development and Promotion."
We talked via Skype with Maria Fung, a native Chinese speaker with 35 years of experience as a selector of world languages for Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) and New York Public Library (NYPL). We had provided Maria with several questions in advance of our meeting and we had a very helpful and informative session with her. Some of Maria's key points in response to the questions we gave her are listed below. Her responses apply mainly to adults, but may be helpful for children's collections as well.
What is the difference between Traditional and Simplified Chinese books and how does this affect collection development?
Traditional Chinese is a character set developed between 200 BC and 200 AD and is used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. It is read left to right and top to bottom. Simplified Chinese was implemented in 1946 when the Communists took over to make it easier for more people to learn to read and write. It is read from right to left, across the page. Simplified Chinese is used in mainland China and Singapore. People who can read Traditional Chinese can also read Simplified. People who read Simplified cannot easily read Traditional.
From a publication standpoint, most books published in mainland China are Simplified. Most books published in Taiwan and Hong Kong are Traditional. From a production standpoint, more books are published in Mainland China.
We had a bit of a debate concerning the best percentage breakdown for Simplified vs. Traditional. For our purposes, the breakdown recommended by local vendor Annie Wang, is probably the most useful: 70% Simplified and 30% Traditional.
Do Chinese patrons prefer to read native Chinese authors over Chinese translations of popular or classic English works?
According to Maria, diversity is good, but the majority prefer native Chinese authors. However, very well known English books and authors (i.e. Harry Potter) are also popular.
What kinds of Chinese fiction and nonfiction are the most popular?
The collection should be split 50/50 between fiction and nonfiction as both are equally important. The biggest areas of interest are:
- language learning
- cooking
- health (including acupuncture/acupressure)
- fortune telling/palm reading/astrology
- feng shui
- political and social topics (especially works that might be censored in mainland China)
- travel
- college entrance materials
- computers
- dictionaries
- finance
- psychology
- religion
- health and beauty
- parenting
- history (world and Chinese)
- living in the USA
- true crime
Older people are especially interested in books on Chinese history, biographies and World War II.
Regarding Chinese children's books, most are targeted to preschool through 3rd grade. Dual language classics or Chinese translations of classics are helpful for high school students.
Regarding fiction, love stories and romances are popular. Graphic novels by a particular author mentioned by Maria are also popular. (This author's name should be in a handout that will eventually be posted to our website).
What classic Chinese works are essential to have?
Works by Confucius and other masters as well as "academic" titles are very expensive. It is more practical and economical to depend on Interlibrary Loan for these types of books.
While people may be happy to see works considered to be "modern classics" in the collection, these books may not circulate much. People prefer more popular titles. Maria did provide a list of popular romance titles and popular authors but it was in Chinese. We are trying to put it in a more usable format and will post it to the website.
Are there lists of Chinese literature prize winners that we should know about?
Maria provided a list in Chinese which we will try to translate and post to the website. Vendors can be helpful in identifying the most popular books.
Any recommended vendors?
Although Maria prefers to use local vendors, it may be helpful to use the same vendors as larger libraries like Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Queens in order to get a better idea of what is popular and current.
Maria provided a vendor list which is attached.
Are there any websites for bestsellers in China?
www.dangdang.com
Mainland China
http://www.books.com.tw/
Taiwan
http://www.suplogistics.com.hk/
Hong Kong
A question was raised concerning audio books but Maria does not order non print items.
The issue of cataloging was also raised. BPL and NYPL have their own catalogers and Maria orders Chinese books on a monthly basis. She suggested that it might be helpful to order six months "behind" the bigger libraries which allows time for the records to appear in OCLC. Many vendors also supply cataloging records.
Annie Wang, formerly a university librarian in China and currently the owner of Booklinx in Lisle, discussed her services and answered questions. Important points included:
- Booklinx provides personalized service (including specific desired percentages of Traditional/Simplified, fiction/nonfiction and age breakdowns for children's books)
- Annie will send lists of titles in spreadsheets via email at whatever frequency we prefer (i.e monthly, quarterly, etc.) and we can review these lists prior to ordering
- If records are not in OCLC, Annie will submit
- Booklinx did have a website, but it has been discontinued; after some discussion, Annie said she will consider updating and reestablishing the website
- Shipping and currency issues contribute to the high price of Chinese books
- Annie recommends we purchase 70% Simplified and 30% Traditional, noting that younger people can generally only read Simplified
- Annie also provides magazines
- Booklinx offers both adult and children's titles
- In response to a question regarding the quality of translation from English, Annie said generally she finds the translations to be good
- In response to a question concerning children attending "Chinese School," Annie noted that in this area, many children do attend especially those children who have been adopted by American parents
Zheng Cai, an author and native of China and a Vernon Area patron, also attended our meeting and shared his opinions and insights. Mr. Cai said that ideally, every library would have Chinese speaking staff or volunteers. He noted his frustration with the lack of particular memoirs and the works of the "best" modern writers in the collections he has seen locally. Some of these writers may be in the list provided by Maria.
Lucia Doyle recommended some additional vendors:
- Tsai Fong (www.bookswindow.com)
- China Sprout - for children (www.chinasprout.com)
- 9789 - Traditional
- 9787 - Simplified
"Here is another vendor for Chinese product: Cheng & Tsui (Boston, MA). They are good for language learning and academic titles. They have a good website. Also, I forgot to mention that BEA 2015 (Book Expo) in New York will feature Chinese publishers in their Global Forum Market. Here is a link to that announcement:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bea/article/60912-bea-to-host-china-at-2015-show.html
This year they are doing something with regards to translations. Here is another link:
http://bookexpoamerica.com/en/Press-and-News/Press-Releases/BookExpo-America-Announces-Plans-For-Global-Market-Forum-2014/
A question I forgot to ask, and others may be interested in knowing is where Chinese eBooks are?"