Holdings

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According to a 1939 description [1]  the BSI counted 125'000 Chinese books and manuscripts and 30'000 European books.

Later inventories amount to 200'000 volumes.

Among the rarities were precious Chinese books from the Ming Dynasty, as well as an original of the 1725 Encyclopedia Gujin Tushu Jicheng (Chinese: 古今圖書集成 ) in 6'000 volumes. The special materials included ancient and modern Chinese paintings and calligraphies, a large set of children's drawings, up to 4000 photographs and many artefacts such as musical instruments.

Current location

National Central Library in Taipei (simplified Chinese: 国家图书馆 traditional Chinese: 國家圖書館) holds the Chinese books of the BSI, both pre and post-1911, as well as uninventoried special materials such as paintings, caligraphies, photographies.

The Biblioteca Nacional de Uruguay holds a large set of books in Western languages of the BSI (original call numbers X and Y), as well as a few artefacts such as children's drawings, two musical drums, and some archives of the BSI.

A few children's drawings are held by the Pestallozianum in Zürich, Switzerland.

The collection of the Shanghai branch of the BSI seems to have been kept after 1950. The research is ongoing.

Inventories

A complete inventory of pre-1911 Chinese books of the BSI was carried out at Montevideo in the 1980s[2]

Post-1911 books, a very interesting part of the BSI holdings, are progressively incorporated into the National Central Library (Taipei) online catalogue.

Several inventories of Special materials are to be found at the BSI archives, Biblioteca Nacional de Uruguay, Departamiento de Materiales especiales.

References
  1. "Geneva's Bibliotheque Sino-Internationale". The China Critic. Shanghai: 198–200. June 29, 1939.
  2. Catalogo de los libros chinos antiguos de la Biblioteca Sino-internacional : Biblioteca Nacional (Uruguay), and Huang Yuanzhuan. Edited by Arturo Sergio Visca. Montevideo, Uruguay: Biblioteca Nacional de la Republica del Uruguay, 1984.