Library seeks contributions from general public

Organizer of the library Tang Jianguang (left) receives historical documents from Fulun Middle School in Beijing on June 11. [Photo provided to China Daily]

A museum of personal history will be set up in Beijing this fall with public contributions.

My History Library, as the name suggests, aims to collect personal historical items from members of society and promote the concept of public history.

The project initiated by the Beijing-based New History Cooperative is currently seeking contributions.

It will result in a library to be established in Beijing’s central business district in September, becoming one of the country’s first libraries dedicated to public history.

With a few hundred contributions already stored, the New History Cooperative is seeking such items as memoirs, genealogical records, historical documents and past publications from anyone interested in keeping a piece of their life alive in a permanent form.

"We are looking for drafts and manuscripts of what happened in the past, so we can learn from these experiences and let the accounts from different sides work together to construct and tell us what really took place," Tang Jianguang, the organizer of the library, said at a recent discussion in Beijing.

"We also want the public to get involved and really begin to look deeper into their past." The collected materials will be displayed as well as being used for research by academic institutions across China. Those wanting to contribute to the library van do so at myhistorylib@163.com or wdlstsg@163.com, in any language.