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should carry forward the integration and sharing of public cultural service facilities and functions.
Now the construction of cultural digital resources has been influenced by traditional management
mode resulting in Galápagos phenomenon. We have not only digital libraries, but also digital
cultural centers, digital art galleries and digital museums. We should commit ourselves to resource
integrating and sharing. Otherwise, if the government funds decrease or even suspend, pubic
cultural services will have the risk of dropping off or coming to naught. Thirdly, we should make
full use of resources at the grassroots and communities. To realize the universal and equitable
public cultural services, we should not only supply public resources, but also activate resources
in the civil society. The present main efforts should be directed to exploration of resources at
the grassroots and communities and encouraging them to be the subject of innovation. Once the
potential resources take shape, they will promote a new round development. For a period the policy
of “increasing input, transforming mechanisms, strengthening vitality and improving services”
towards cultural affairs will remain unchanged.

9 The third-generation library

The first-generation library focused on collection. Chauncey Brewster Tinker, Professor of English
Literature at Yale University, in his speech to graduates in 1924, said that students, instructors
and a collection of books were the three distinguishing marks of a university and of these three
the most important was the collection of books (Frade & Washburn, 2006). It summarized vividly
the characteristics of libraries in that era. Later libraries underwent the second generation. At first
libraries were partly on open shelves which were expanded gradually and some even proposed
90% on open shelves. Consequently, libraries in many countries gave priority to circulation and set
indicators of circulation quantity in library standards. The volume of books, purchasing expenditure
and number of staff were all based on the indicators. According to the Mission and Goals of Public
Library issued by Japan: a city with a population of 200,000, 30% registry rate and loaning 6 book
per capita should loan 1,200,000 volumes (The Library Association of Japan,Special Committee
of Library policy, 1995). The most typical is Queens Library. In the past, 80% of the library’s focus
was on loaning materials. Today, about 30% is lending while 70% is focused on non-traditional
programs like communication, seminars and lectures (Sanburn, 2013). From then, library work
goes beyond the scope of books.
In August, 2011, IFLA General Conference and Assembly held in Puerto Rico with the theme
of “Libraries beyond Libraries” signaled the transformation. The characteristics of the third-
generation library are to go beyond books and libraries and take knowledge circulation as the
main part. The third-generation library pays more attention to peoples’ demands. It is open access,
integrating concerns of ecological environment and resources. It aims to advance knowledge
circulation and to make innovations in circulation circumstances. It lays emphasis on cultivating
multiple literacies and activating community’s vitality (J.Z. Wu, 2016a). Firstly, the third-