Wearing white gloves and gingerly picking up a book dating back to the early 1800s, Richmond Public Library's (RPL) Wendy Jang tells the crowd of journalists the rare, thread-bound book is the oldest one in the collection of more than 47,000 Chinese books recently donated by Dr. Kwok-Chu Lee.
"Dr. Lee has been a strong and steadfast supporter and a very good friend to the library," said Jang. "His goal has always been that we have the best and largest collection of Chinese books in the province."
The RPL held a press conference Wednesday to preview its newest donation of Chinese language books.
In 1995, Lee made his inaugural donation of 1,800 books - many of which are extraordinarily authoritative and valuable books in different fields of knowledge. Over the ensuing years, Lee has donated books, DVD's and art works totaling 101,112, and worth more than $1.5 million.
The vast collection was dubbed a "national treasure" by specialists who were hired by the RPL to appraise the collection, which came, in part, from Lee's personal collected works of more than 80,000.
"These specialists from around the world were incredibly impressed by the quality of the donation," said Jang. "We are confident we have lots of rare books, which have been conservatively assessed at $1.2 million."
Former RPL board chair Tung Chan spoke eloquently about "Dr. Lee's unfailing support year after year to the library."
"Every year, without fail, Dr. Lee has made some sort of donation, whether it be monetary, art work, books or lecture papers," Chan said. "If you look at the wealth of communities or cities, the significance of its wealth in terms of public services and spaces available to its residents cannot be underscored.
"Donors such as Dr. Lee help make Richmond a rich community."
Jang and Chan, along with RPL chair Pat Watson, agree that everyone, not just scholars and private wealthy citizens, should be able to access the knowledge contained in these rare books.
"Dr. Lee is a firm believer in that books should be shared, not tucked away in someone private collection," added Watson. "This new collection raises us to a semiacademic level."
The RPL will honour Lee's newest donation during a recognition ceremony on Wednesday, Aug. 29 at 3 p.m. in the Kwok-Chu Lee Living Room, Brighouse branch, 100-7700 Minoru Gate. RSVP to the library administrator by calling 604-231-6422 or at admin@yourlibrary.ca. The library is also honouring Lee by hosting a number of free workshops and events for both kids and adults. For more information, visit the library or go to www.yourlibrary.ca.
mhopkins@richmond-news.com
