On September 20th at 2:30 pm, the Robert B. Greenblatt Library hosted a ceremonial ribbon cutting event to honor the book and material donations made to the University Libraries through the Confucius Institute.
L.D. Newman, MA, JD, the Assistant Vice President of International Initiatives and Director of the Augusta University Confucius Institute, spoke on the intent of the Confucius Institute and the partnership between the Hanban in China and Augusta University. According to Newman, “The Augusta University Confucius Institute (CI) is the only CI in the United States which focuses on programs in Traditional Chinese Medicine.” The partnership between Augusta University and the Hanban has allowed for classes on acupuncture and Chinese language taught by visiting professors from the Hanban, an ever-growing book collection at the Robert B. Greenblatt M.D. Library and the Reese Library, and new community outreach programs.
Professor Wenxin Zhou, Associate Director of the Augusta University CI, officially presented the book collection to Augusta University on Behalf of China’s Hanban. This collection is kept in front of the Library Information Desk and the materials are available to all University and community users. The top of the bookcase displays other artifacts and gifts provided to the Greenblatt Library through the Augusta University CI.
Brenda Seago, MLS, MA, PhD, Director of Libraries, accepted and thanked the Hanban and Professor Zhou for the book donation. Li Ma, MLIS, MACC, the Cataloging and Metadata Librarian for Reese Library, provided a translation of Dr. Seago’s speech into Chinese.
Brooks A. Keel, PhD, President of Augusta University, and President Xu of the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, cut the ceremonial ribbon, officially opening the Confucius collections of the University Libraries.
