Libraries are doing well in the digital times. Here are some of the most awesome examples.

1. Freiburg University Library, Germany

The original library of the Freiburg University was rebuilt in 2015 following the project of Degelo Architects. The new building has 41,000 square meters and looks like a cut diamond. Inside, there are 1,200 workspaces in four reading rooms plus 500 work areas. The library offers in the basement a system of automated checkout machines and 700,000 volumes that can be borrowed.

2. Microlibrary at Taman Bima, Indonesia

This wonderful little public library is located in a Kampung neighborhood near the Bandung airport, Indonesia. The building was designed by the Bandung office of SHAU architect studio. It has 160 square meters and is built upon a preexisting stage that was already used by the local community for events and gatherings. The Bima public library is the first of a series of similar microlibraries that are planned to be built across Indonesia.

3. Public Library of Constitución, Chile

The city in Constitución, Chile, was devastated by 8.8 degrees earthquake in 2010. The new public library, designed by Sebastian Irarrázaval, is a part of the initiative to rebuild the city. Constitución is one of the biggest clusters of wood production in Chile. This heritage is reflected in the construction of this post-disaster library. It’s made almost entirely of wood, and only the firewalls are done with exposed poured concrete. The internal area of the library exceeds 350 square meters. The building was opened in 2015, five years after the earthquake.

4. LiYuan Library, China

Built in 2011 in a small village o Huairou on the outskirts（郊区）of Beijing, this beautiful nature-inspired library was designed by Li Xiaodong. The 175-square-meter building’s interior is spatially diverse by using steps and small level changes to create distinct places. The wooden sticks temper the bright light and spread it evenly throughout the space to give a perfect reading environment. The library closes at dusk because there is no electricity in it.

Mark is always engaged in his work. But this time he felt that it was time for him to take part in his community, so he went to the neighborhood meeting after work. The area city council woman was leading a discussion about how the quality of life was on the decline. The neighborhood faced many problems. Mark looked at the charts taped to the walls. There were charts for parking problems, crime, and for problems in empty buildings. Mark read from the charts, “Police patrols cut back, illegal parking up 20%”. People were supposed to suggest solutions to the council woman. It was too much for Mark. “The problems are too big”, he thought. He turned to the man next to him and said, “I think this is a waste of my time. Nothing I can do would make a difference here.”

As he neared the bus stop on his way home, Mark saw a woman carrying a grocery bag, and a baby. As Mark got closer, her other child, a little boy, suddenly ran into the street. The woman tried to reach for him, but as she moved, her bag shifted, and groceries started to fall out. Mark ran to take the boy’s arm and led him back to his mother. “You gotta stay with mom,” he said. Then he picked up the stray groceries while and the woman smiled in relief. “Thanks,” she said, “You’ve got great timing.” “Just being neighborly,” Mark said. As he rode home, he glanced at the walls of bus. On one of them was “Small acts of kindness add up.” Mark smiled and thought, “Maybe that’s a good place to start.”

It is important to protect yourself from harmful rays. But if you think a high-factor sunscreen keeps you safe from harmful rays, you may be wrong. Research in this week’s Nature shows that while factor 50 reduces the number of melanomas（黑瘤）and delays their occurrence, it can’t prevent them. Melanomas are the most aggressive skin cancers. You have a higher risk if you have red or blond hair, fair skin, blue or green eyes, or sunburn easily, or if a close relative has had one. Melanomas are more common if you have periodic intense exposure to the sun. Other skin cancers are increasingly likely with long-term exposure.

There is continuing debate as to how effective sunscreen is in reducing melanomas – the evidence is weaker than it is for preventing other types of skin cancer. A 2011 Australian study of 1,621 people found that people randomly selected to apply sunscreen daily had half the rate of melanomas of people who used cream as needed. A second study, comparing 1,167 people with melanomas to 1.101 who didn’t have the cancer, found that using sunscreen routinely, alongside other protection such as hats, long sleeves or staying in the shade, did give some protection. This study said other forms of sun protection – no sunscreen – seemed most beneficial. The study relied on people remembering what they had done over each decade of their lives, so it’s not entirely reliable. But it seems reasonable to think sunscreen gives people a false sense of security in the sun.

Many people also don’t use sunscreen properly applying insufficient amounts, failing to reapply after a couple of hours and staying in the sun too long. It is sunburn that is most worrying – recent research shows five episodes of sunburn in the teenage years increases the risk of all skin cancers.

The good news is that a combination of sunscreen and covering up can reduce melanoma rates, as shown by Australian figures from their slip-slop-slap campaign. So if there is a heat wave this summer, it would be best for us, too, to slip on a shirt, use sunscreen and slap on a hat.

LUKLA, Nepal(Xinhua) – Qomolangma, known as Mount Everest in the West, once negatively recognized as the “world’s highest junkyard”, is set to become cleaner as 30,000 porters（搬运工）have been mobilized（动员）for waste collection and disposal from the mountain’s southern side. The cleanup drive was launched recently near Lukla airport, one of the world’s most dangerous airports yet a vital gateway to the world’s highest peak.

“Our major task is to keep Everest, which is the pride of the world, clean. This campaign aims to transport 100 tons of nonburnable garbage from the Everest region to Kathmandu in 2018,”Ang Dorje Sherpa, chairman of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee said.

The SPCC, an environmental conversation organization, has made it mandatory（强制性）since 2013 that every climber should carry down 8 kilograms of trash, but for trekkers（旅行者）there is no such regulation. Due to this, more than 100 tons of waste gets collected in the region annually.

According to Nepalese government statistics, nearly 50,000 domestic and foreign trekkers visit the Qomolangma region annually, while more than 400 mountaineers attempt to scale the peak. The collected waste mostly includes empty beer bottles and cans, oxygen bottles, torn tents and sleeping bags, food bins, and discarded mountaineering and trekking equipment. The trash was collected by local groups in more than a dozen villages while the waste was transported down the mountain in sacks（麻布袋）by porters and yak-hybrid animals as zopkyos. The cleanup covered settlements from up to 5,000 meters near the base camp, to Lukla airport located at an altitude of 2,805 meters.

On the first day of the campaign, several tons of waste was sent off to Kathmando from Lulka on planes belonging to Tara Airlines, one of the leading private airlines in Nepal. The airlines have set an ambitious target of flying out 100 tons of waste from the region in 2018, as a part of its commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals against climate change. The company’s CEO Umesh Chandra Rai said: “We hope that this campaign will help the local people to maintain a pristine（原始的）, natural and unspoiled environment so that more trekkers will come from everywhere, making the trekking industry here more sustainable.”