VOA慢速英语207 美国图书馆扩大聚合 欲打造世上最大图书馆（在线收听）

The Library of Congress is using technology to make its collections available to people across the United States and around the world.

美国国会图书馆正在利用科技让其馆藏可以为美国人民和全球人民所用。

The library is the main research center of the United States Congress. It has books, recordings, photographs and newspapers.

国会图书馆是美国国会的主要研究中心所在。该图书馆馆藏有图书资源、录音资源、影像资源和报纸。

The library also has maps, sheet music and even baseball cards among its collections. It is the largest library in the world.

除此之外，国会图书馆的馆藏还有地图、活页乐谱，甚至棒球卡。国会图书馆是全球最大的图书馆。

Five months ago, President Barack Obama named Carla Hayden as Librarian of Congress. She is both the first woman and the first African-American to be appointed to the position.

5个月前，时任总统奥巴马任命海登(Carla Hayden )为国会图书馆馆长。海登既是有史以来被任命该职位的第一位女性，也是以地为非裔美国人。

Most who held the job before her were politicians or came from the world of education. But Hayden has worked as a librarian. She led a large library in Baltimore, Maryland. Before that, she served as chief librarian for the public library in Chicago, Illinois. She was also president of the American Library Association.

海登的前任大多是政客，或是来自全球教育界的人士。不过，海登有图书馆员的工作经历。海登还曾在美国马里兰州的巴尔的摩市担任过某大型图书馆馆长。而在担任馆长之前，她曾是伊利诺斯州芝加哥市公共图书馆的图书馆馆长。海登还担任过美国图书馆协会的会长。

The Library of Congress has been criticized in recent years for a lack of leadership and for being slow to accept new technologies.

近年来，国会图书馆因缺乏领导力以及接受新技术速度过慢而备受诟病。

The library was created more than 200 years ago as a place where members of Congress could find information. Its workers also provide research for U.S. lawmakers and their aides.

200多年前建立国会图书馆是为了让国会议员有查找信息的去处。国会图书馆的工作人员还兼为美国立法者们及其助手提供研究帮助。

Today, the Library of Congress is considered America’s library. It has more than 160 million items. They include more than 30 million books and print materials from around the world in more than 450 languages.

不过今天，国会图书馆俨然已是全美的图书馆。它拥有1.6亿多个名目。其中包括涵盖450多种语言的3千多万本书籍和打印材料。

The library also has a Gutenberg Bible produced in the 1400s, and the world’s largest comic book collection. Hayden says the library adds at least 10,000 items to its collections every work day.

国会图书馆还藏有15世纪版的《古腾堡圣经》以及世界上最大的连环漫画库藏。海登表示，国会图书馆每个工作日有至少1万个名目的增加量。

The general public can see materials in the library’s reading rooms, but is not permitted to take them off the grounds. Hayden wants to change that by making them available online and through other technologies.

公众可以在国会图书馆的阅览室查看资料，但不可以将材料带出馆外。海登想改变这一现状，让馆藏资料可以在线阅读或者通过其他科技方式阅读。

Hayden says she wants the library “to open its arms to people around the world, to let people know it is available to them.”

海登说，她希望该图书馆可以“对世界各地的所有人敞开怀抱，让人们知道这里的资料他们是可以看的。”

“We have things on our website that bring the collections to people wherever they are. They can download materials. They can participate -- and we just added, this is pretty exciting, a 3D virtual reality tour where you can put the goggles on and you can physically tour the buildings.”

“我们的官网上有很多资料可供人们阅览，无论他们身在何处。他们也可以下载资料。还可以参加——我们新增加的一个很有意思的3D虚拟现实之旅，过程中你可以带上头显，就像身临其境参观各个建筑一样。”

Hayden also wants the Library of Congress to make its materials available across the country through traveling demonstrations.

海登还希望国会图书馆的资料能够通过巡回展示的方式为全美人民所用。

“Actually taking an 18-wheeler truck and loading it up with facsimiles -- sometimes there’ll be electronic information and devices on those trucks -- and actually going into communities.”

“就是用一辆18个轮子的卡车装上这些资料的影印本——有时候卡车上还会装有点子信息和设备——然后走进千家万户。”

Words in This Story

access -- n. a way of getting near, at, or to something or someone?

library -- n. a place where books, magazines, and other materials (such as videos and musical recordings) are available for people to use or borrow?

item -- n. an individual thing: a separate part or thing?

participate -- v. to be involved with others in doing something : to take part in an activity or event with others?

tour -- n. an activity in which you go through a place (such as a building or city) in order to see and learn about the different parts of it?

goggles -- n. special eyeglasses that fit close to your face?

mobile -- adj. able to move from one place to another?

facsimile -- n. an exact copy?