californiabeachboy Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 I will be visiting CM for a couple of months and staying somewhere West of Old Town. I will not be attending the University, but I would like to use their library for both academic articles, and also occasionally light reading (magazines, international newspapers, etc.) in English. I checked their website but the info on using the facilities was in Thai. Does anyone know if a visitor to CM can use the CMU libraries, and how much of a collection they have in English? I know I can get many of the material online, but sometimes I like to read something the old fashioned way. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinnieTheKhwai Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Years and years ago I could. But that was before the Internet took off. I think you can definitely read materials while there, I'm not 100% positive about lending; I may have asked a student friend to lend it for me but not sure; too long ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrry Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 You can use the library for reading free. You can also get a card which allows you to be a borrower for about $50 a year from memory. If you are in a wheelchair they have a wheelchair ramp and the library is fully accessible however they very inteligently block the paths leading to the ramp. The ramp also goes to doors which are permanantly closed. If you can get someone to remove the barriers to the paths and then go to ask them to send a senoir librrarian to open the doors for you ou are OK. Rather bright for a University is CMU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mapguy Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Excellent question by OP. I regret I do not have a ready response from experience, but I think this is definitely worth a look! A general university library, even in a very developed East Asian country (I know from experience), has random (sometimes curious, sometimes pleasantly surprising) holdings in other languages. You might be positively surprised at CMU, depending upon your tastes, but you have to POLITELY AND QUIETLY look. Expatriate library buffs are emphatically not the library's important clientele. If anything, farang dapplers are a pain in the catalog! And, after all, what the hell should anyone expect of such a young library in an economically-less-developed provincial town, as pleasant as it is. If you use the AUA library, at a very small annual fee, or visit the local second-hand shops, like our friend UG's, you'll do quite well if you must have a book in your fists. Alternatively, in this internet age, you'll be surprised how much you can find on the web! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
californiabeachboy Posted June 21, 2011 Author Share Posted June 21, 2011 Thanks for the responses and the suggestion about the AUA library. I have sent an email off to both CMU and AUA regarding visitor use and fees, and will report back with any info. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneZero Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 (edited) Excellent question by OP. I regret I do not have a ready response from experience, but I think this is definitely worth a look! A general university library, even in a very developed East Asian country (I know from experience), has random (sometimes curious, sometimes pleasantly surprising) holdings in other languages. You might be positively surprised at CMU, depending upon your tastes, but you have to POLITELY AND QUIETLY look. Expatriate library buffs are emphatically not the library's important clientele. If anything, farang dapplers are a pain in the catalog! And, after all, what the hell should anyone expect of such a young library in an economically-less-developed provincial town, as pleasant as it is. If you use the AUA library, at a very small annual fee, or visit the local second-hand shops, like our friend UG's, you'll do quite well if you must have a book in your fists. Alternatively, in this internet age, you'll be surprised how much you can find on the web! My experience is a few years old, but things probably have not changed. CMU has a main library, as well as departmental libraries holding books& journals specific to that dept & not frequentlu used at the main library. You can enter by leaving an ID card at front desk, and then browse what they have. Huge collections of academic books in English (but not always the latest editions), as Thai authors are usually not the first source of the academic research. For an annual fee you can check books out of the libraary (It was 500 Baht /year a few years ago). I was doing that because I was a guest speaker in Engineering Dept discussing Reliability and Statistical applications to reliability to masters degree students on weekends (that may have given me extra priviledge at the Engineering Dept library). In the course of my preparation I was able to check out books from both the main library as well as the Engineering Dept library. Since then I have returned to the libraries, but have not used the "check out" aspects. So just go over there & talk to them about it. Edited June 22, 2011 by OneZero Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uptheos Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 You can use the library for reading free. You can also get a card which allows you to be a borrower for about $50 a year from memory. If you are in a wheelchair they have a wheelchair ramp and the library is fully accessible however they very inteligently block the paths leading to the ramp. The ramp also goes to doors which are permanantly closed. If you can get someone to remove the barriers to the paths and then go to ask them to send a senoir librrarian to open the doors for you ou are OK. Rather bright for a University is CMU. Yes, unfortunately this is all too common here, but you would have thought that a university might have a modicum of intelligence. Chiang Mai is an obstacle course for anyone who has a disability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJW Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 You can use the library for reading free. You can also get a card which allows you to be a borrower for about $50 a year from memory. If you are in a wheelchair they have a wheelchair ramp and the library is fully accessible however they very inteligently block the paths leading to the ramp. The ramp also goes to doors which are permanantly closed. If you can get someone to remove the barriers to the paths and then go to ask them to send a senior librarian to open the doors for you ou are OK. Rather bright for a University is CMU. Yes, unfortunately this is all too common here, but you would have thought that a university might have a modicum of intelligence. Chiang Mai is an obstacle course for anyone who has a disability. Unfortunately, it is not just cmu, but it is the same with anything governmental. Stairs and a lack of usable ramps make it very difficult for anyone disabled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hml367 Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 (edited) You can use the library for reading free. You can also get a card which allows you to be a borrower for about $50 a year from memory. If you are in a wheelchair they have a wheelchair ramp and the library is fully accessible however they very inteligently block the paths leading to the ramp. The ramp also goes to doors which are permanantly closed. If you can get someone to remove the barriers to the paths and then go to ask them to send a senior librarian to open the doors for you ou are OK. Rather bright for a University is CMU. Yes, unfortunately this is all too common here, but you would have thought that a university might have a modicum of intelligence. Chiang Mai is an obstacle course for anyone who has a disability. Unfortunately, it is not just cmu, but it is the same with anything governmental. Stairs and a lack of usable ramps make it very difficult for anyone disabled. It wasn't really that long ago that the U.S. was similar. Yet it seems that is a drift from the original question. MSPain Edited June 22, 2011 by hml367 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffreyMcCollum Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 there is also a nice city library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
californiabeachboy Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 Thanks for the responses. I sent emails to CMU and AUA about using their library and any fees. They gave me a quick response. For CMU, the email said visitors can use the library as long as they show their passport. In order to borrow materials or use the Internet, you have to pay the fees (the email didn't say what the fees were). As for AUA the email said that a visitor can use the library for a fee of 400 baht per year. As far as international papers and magazines, it is mainly the International Herald Tribune, and the Thai papers in English, as well as the main English nmagazines (New Yorker, Time, National Geographic, Sports Illustrated, etc.) Just passing this on in case anyone else is interested. I will look at the academic publications of the CMU library when I get there. My particular interest is conflict resolution in different cultures (in a prior life I did a lot of mediations), which, ironically, I thought could possibly be useful on this thread, but things seemed to have calmed down. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashoka Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Yes you may use the library but you can not take anything out. If you have a problem go to HB 5 and ask for Dr. Pisit or Dr. Chris they will help you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrry Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Yes you may use the library but you can not take anything out. If you have a problem go to HB 5 and ask for Dr. Pisit or Dr. Chris they will help you. Ashoka I can confirm you CAN take out items if you have a borrowers pass which is obtained from the library for a fee and presentation of your passport and a letter of residence giving your address. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infernalman7 Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 When I was in High School, I subscribed to Questia, an excellent online library. However, you won't find research journals there. Perhaps you ask the university you graduated from for access? A lot of universities these days give all their graduates free access to their online catalog of research journals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante99 Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 I had a library card when I was 6 years old and the library had a lot of great books with pictures too. It was wonderful but I do not remember a ramp or any foreign language books. When I was 9 I got another library card for a different library and it was bigger and had foreign language books but none in Thai. I had to go there on a bus without a ramp. Those were wonderful days, then many years later the internet arrived strangely around the same time that ethics and morality were in decline and people had been getting dumber and dumber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el jefe Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 Thanks for the responses. .... As for AUA the email said that a visitor can use the library for a fee of 400 baht per year. As far as international papers and magazines, it is mainly the International Herald Tribune, and the Thai papers in English, as well as the main English nmagazines (New Yorker, Time, National Geographic, Sports Illustrated, etc.) Just passing this on in case anyone else is interested. AUA's library is pretty small. They usually have the current Herald Trib to read on site. I don't know about back issues. As for English language magazines, they sometimes have the current one, but rarely have anything else available that is less than a few months old. I found it pretty much useless, but haven't beenin in about a year. Hopefully things have changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vagabond48 Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 Here is a TV link to a free library. It is called Raintree. It might be worth a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lite Beer Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 One defamatory post has been deleted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lite Beer Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 A private squabble that managed to take up 32 posts has been removed. This includes other members referring to it. A few other posts have been edited to remove references. If you wish to get involved in petty squabbles I am sure you can find a nursery school playground somewhere to sort it out. Thai Visa is not the place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lite Beer Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Another defamatory post has been deleted. The member appears to be on a mission and the next one gets a suspension. The owner of this site has no intention of being sued for defamation. Also he would not like to be in a position of having to supply the members details to enable him to be sued. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.png.3b3332cc2256ad0edbc2fe9404feeef0.png)
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now