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194 Journal of Library Science in China, Vol.9, 2017

financial support to the public library; that the number of the library staff should be determined
by the following five factors, namely, the library service, the library scale and size, the scope of
services, and the served population; and that the library staff should obtain adequate proficiency.
5)It innovates the system and mechanism of public library. The law summarizes the successful
experiences obtained from the long-term practices and the norms in the previous policies, thus
constructing a central-branch system of public libraries with Chinese characteristics. It prescribes
that a comprehensive corporate governance structure should be built in public libraries, which
provides the legal basis for the governance reform. To reform and perfect the current evaluation
mechanism, the law also makes a great breakthrough by combining the assessment results and the
reward mechanism. 6)It promotes the development of public library services and its integration
with modern technology. The law clearly prescribes that government should support the assisting
function that technology has in the construction, management, and service of public libraries;
that government should bear the responsibilities regarding the digital and network construction
of public libraries, namely, building a unified, interconnected digital service network, supporting
the development of digital reading products and the research on digital resource conservation, and
promoting public libraries to provide services using digital and networked technologies; and that
the public libraries bear the following responsibilities, namely, strengthening the construction of
digital resources, equipping the corresponding facilities, establishing literature information sharing
platform both online and offline, and providing special attention to the construction of the central-
branch libraries and the digital protection of ancient books. The law prescribes clearly the legal
norms which concern the responsibilities of public libraries in the protection of readers’ private
information. Specifically, the types of readers’ information that public libraries should protect
include the personal information, book-borrowing information, and other types of information that
may pose threats to readers’ privacy. Such protection is realized by the guarantee that the public
libraries cannot provide these information by selling or by other means illegally. 7)It establishes
fundamental guidelines for encouraging the participation of the social powers in the establishment
and management of public libraries. The law prescribes that government should provide supports
to the service of public libraries by means including government purchase of services, and that
a donor-naming mechanism should be built. 8)It clearly defines the nature and functions of the
National Library. The law prescribes the National Library’s construction subject and the main
functions. It is the first time in terms of law to clearly prescribe that the National Library has the
function of public library. The law establishes a publication deposit system in which a publisher
should fulfill the obligation to deposit publications to public libraries. In this regard, “deposit”
refers to the free submission and conservation in the public libraries. The legal submitting subject
refers to the National Library and local provincial public libraries. It is a great breakthrough
that the law enlarges the extension of the submitting organizations to the local provincial public
libraries.