Page 36 - JOURNAL OF LIBRARY SCIENCE IN CHINA 2015 Vol. 41

Wugang JIN / A study on construction and accomplishment for the county level central-branch library system in China 035

and village (community) general culture service centers (village culture rooms and Farmers’
Reading Rooms) etc. can all serve as premises for reading services. Cases in point are the “Rural

Culture Hall” in Zhejiang Province (Ge, 2014), the “Farmers’ Culture Park” in Anhui Province

(Y. B. Li, 2014), and the “Village Stage” in Gansu Province (Gu & Gou, 2014), which are under
construction and will provide “Reading Rooms” for users. In villages without general culture
service centers, reading services are also covered with the support of the national initiatives to
promote culture activities for the benefit of people in rural areas. For example, Farmers’ Reading
Rooms can provide public reading services. The primary service outlets supported by the national
culture information resources sharing project can provide digital reading services. These services
have covered every village 12 ①② .
(2) Making coordinated and overall use of public facilities in urban and rural areas
Not only the public culture facilities but also many other facilities publicly financed can be
utilized. Firstly, idle facilities of primary and middle schools and service centers of urban and
rural communities can be used as reading rooms or service facilities. Secondly, science and
technology museums, workers’ culture centers, activity centers for women and children and places
of extracurricular activities for teenagers can be encouraged to provide public reading services.
Thirdly, Party and government offices, state-owned enterprises and institutions and schools can be
encouraged to stagger their opening hours to provide reading services for the public.
(3) Making coordinated and overall use of urban and rural social facilities
Rules and regulations should be formulated to guide and encourage social involvement in
providing facilities used for library services. In the Jiading District of Shanghai, the district library
has set up “Book Clubs for the Public” in the homes of book-loving rural residents who are willing
to provide places and able to manage daily operation. They provide public reading services for the
neighboring residents (Y. Jin & Fan, 2007). In the Chaoyang District of Beijing, the district library
jointly organizes activities and distributes books to private libraries that are ready to provide free
lending and reading services (“Reports on the development of the initial National Public Cultural
Service System Demonstration Areas in Chaoyang District of Beijing Municipality”, 2013). In
Jiangyin, Jiangsu province, the city library utilizes cafes, teahouses and other commercial facilities
as branch libraries providing free reading services for the public (X. S. Wang, 2014). These
practices are cost-effective and easily replicable as they do not require the construction of new
facilities and are adaptive to the demographic changes. The flexible way of establishing branch
libraries is conducive to the full coverage of reading facilities in urban and rural areas.

① By the end of 2011, 602 000 village service outlets funded by the national culture information resources sharing project had
been set up with a coverage rate of 99% and almost all administrative villages had been covered by the project. Data source: Zhang
Y. B, Liu H.P., & Liu G. (2013). The construction and service of Culture Sharing Projects. Beijing: Beijing Normal University
Press, p.2.
② By the end of August 2012, more than 600 000 Farmers’ Reading Rooms had been set up in agricultural and pastoral areas across
the nation. Almost all the villages had a Farmers’ Reading Room. Data source: The Network of Village Libraries in China. The
Village Library Project having being completed 3 years ahead of schedule. Retrieved February 20, 2015, from http://www.zgnjsw.
gov.cn/booksnetworks/contents/406/135590.html.