Page 47 - JOURNAL OF LIBRARY SCIENCE IN CHINA 2015 Vol. 41

046 Journal of Library Science in China, Vol. 7, 2015

aiming at the centralized book procurement, cataloging, resource allocation, facility management,
personnel training and service regulations.

Table 1. Comparison of county-level libraries’ development over ten years
Major indicators 2004 2013 Increase (%)
Number of institutions 2 262 2 712 19.89
Number of employees 25 481 32 497 27.53
Total collection of books (in 10 000 copies) 16 408.68 34 046.29 107.49
Number of books increased during the year (in 10 000 copies) 588.03 2 533.61 330.86
Total number of circulation (in 10 000 person-times) 10 767.66 26 442.46 145.57
Number of books loaned (in 10 000 copies) 9 086.20 20 725.25 128.1
Number of valid library cards distributed (in 10 000 units) 451.64 1 232.56 172.91
Government budget (in 10 000 RMB) 68 974.0 416 909.2 504.44
Floor space of reading rooms (in 10 000 square meters) 66.29 175.06 164.08
Number of seats in reading rooms (in 10 000 units) 29.56 53.82 82.07
Note: Data Source from:1) Department of Planning and Finance of the Ministry of Culture of China. (2005). Chinese culture and
cultural relics statistical yearbook 2005. Beijing: The Beijing Library Press, pp.100-101; 2) Ministry of Culture of China. (2014).
Chinese culture and cultural relics statistical yearbook 2014. Beijing: The National Library of China Publishing House, pp.70-73.

To give a full play to the leading role of county-level libraries in the central-branch library system,
efforts should be made to strengthen the service capacity of county-level libraries in the following
aspects. 1) In terms of personnel, it is recommended to increase the number of positions including
the public welfare positions, raise the specialization level of human resources, and improve the
employees’ professional spirit, professional competence and service consciousness. 2) In terms of
funding, more budget should be allocated for purchasing books, carrying out activities and enabling
free access to libraries and the county-level centralized funding mechanism should be put in place.
3) In terms of event or activity organization, it is recommended to establish the mechanism of
designing and executing reading events and organize and implement joint reading activities around
the county. 4) Regarding to mobile services, mobile culture service vehicles should be provided and
the distribution and circulation of resources, programs and services should be strengthened. 5) As
for digital services, county-level libraries with appropriate conditions and resources are encouraged
to set up digital platforms by themselves to provide digital library services for the whole county,
while those unable to do so, by using the resources from municipal, provincial and national-level
libraries, may develop and provide their digital library services at the county level.

4.2 Optimizing the professional training system for primary-level employees

Library service is organized and delivered by library employees whose professional competence
and capabilities have a direct impact on the service quality provided. In 2010, the Publicity