I did search to see if this has been covered, if it has, please excuse my n00bishness. :help:
I recently became a member of the National Taiwan Library, hoping to find some english-language books to read. Indeed they do have a selection of around 1000 books you can borrow but most of them are ridiculously out-of-date, or just plain boring — i was amused to find a book that could teach me how to fly a Boing 747, but not amused enough to read it. The one book i did borrow and enjoy was a translated pamphlet on the Eight Immortals / Ba Hsien.
But i went through basically everything theyve got and couldnt find anything else worth borrowing. Please, suggest some libraries I can sign up to as a member and borrow worthwhile english books, especially if they are near an MRT station. I do have work permit, ARC card, all the good stuff you need to sign up.
What are you looking for?
The major universities have decent collections of academic works and classic lit.
There are also any number of restaurants that have used book selections and buy and sell books. Bongos has a good selection.
I second this - I’m looking for the same thing - books I can read for fun, education, etc. I’m just outside of Taipei, and when my friends were good enough to take me to the local library and see what was there, they only had one copy of Harry Potter I and a children’s (“See Spot. See Spot run. Run, Spot, run!”) book.
On a similar note, I haven’t seen any ads for this on Taiwanted etc, but would people be interested in setting up a book exchange board or group along the lines of you post what you have and see who wants to trade? I don’t want to buy books here because I’m not sure how long I’ll remain, and I’m pretty sure others are in the same boat.
Try to find your branch of the Taipei City Library. Go and take a look at their English section. Membership is free for Taipei residents. Muzha’s LiShing branch has a fairly good section, both for kids and adults, for example. If your local branch’s collection is minimal, try the following:
Use the Taipei City Library online search system. (You will need to read Chinese/have a Chinese-reader help you with it.) Order the books you want, from any of the many branches around Taipei. Request they be sent to your Taipei City Library local branch. The library will email you and call you when they arrive. You pick them up and return them to your local library. It’s a free service.
That sounds great - but I’m in Taipei County, not in Taipei City. Do you have any suggestions for those of us outside the city itself? Can I still get books on loan from the Taipei City library?
thanks for the quick, insightful feedback. someone asked what I am looking to read — everything from that new translation of “The Plum In The Golden Vase” to sci-fi pulp novels. I guess though that the bigger the library, the better.
I’ll follow the link to the Taipei Pub Lib and update on my experiences with them
The Taipei Public Library (not the City Library as asiababy said) has a great selection of books held at the Da An branch. They’re located on B2 (children’s) and 5F (adult’s). You can have any book sent from any branch to any other branch. You can search online using a mostly English interface: http://webcat.tpml.edu.tw/uhtbin/cgisirsi/x/0/0/57/49?user_id=ENGWEB&password=ENGWEB.
For Harry Potter at the Da An (C12大安) Branch, a search came up with 40 book titles.