Page 47 - JOURNAL OF LIBRARY SCIENCE IN CHINA 2018 Vol. 43

LI Guoxin & ZHANG Yong / On accelerating the renaissance of public libraries in Central China 047

Culture Centers and County Libraries (hereinafter referred to as Opinions) (2016) drafted by the
Ministry of Culture and other departments is forthcoming. In accordance with the targets set in
the Opinions, all qualified county public libraries should have built up the central-branch system
with good communication between the central and branch libraries, services of high quality and
effective coverage by 2020. To achieve this goal, the Opinions proposes some measures. For
example, the construction of the central-branch system is implemented by county governments,
which transforms the construction from “occupation behavior” to “government behavior”. The
layout, size and standard of the central-branch system depend on local economic and social
development levels, natural conditions, population distribution, culture basis, etc., which reflects
that the construction idea keeps to the reality, rules, local conditions and provides different
guidance. The Opinions also gives guidance on the framework of the county central-branch
system, node facilities, service standards and operation mechanisms, which identifies key tasks of
the central-branch system construction. The qualified regions are encouraged to explore ways for
the central library to administrate branch libraries or participate in management of branch libraries’
human, financial and material resources, which demonstrates the orientation towards encouraging
innovation. The emphasis and difficulty of revitalizing public libraries in Central China lie in the
rural areas. Due to limited funding, resources and professionals in rural areas, it is difficult to
realize equalization of resources and service qualities by decentralized construction. Therefore,
by seizing the opportunity of the government-guided construction of the central-branch library
system, public libraries in Central China should enhance the competence of the central library in
the county, and forge more capable branch libraries in rural areas in accordance with key tasks of
building the comprehensive cultural service centers during the 13th Five-Year Plan period. It can
be said that the innovation of the system of central-branch public libraries and the resource sharing
and communication are regarded as the most valid approaches to elevate service abilities in Central
China．

2.4 To expand and deepen the Library+ and Internet+

Library+ refers to the integration of library services and other industries. Recently, there have been
many cases of expanding public library service network through cooperation. Library services
have been integrated into the bookstores, cafes, teahouses, flower shops, hotels, supermarkets,
bank branches, public service halls, community service centers and many other places. The
participation of social resources and capital diversifies the construction and services of public
libraries. Library+ is a credible shortcut to develop the facility and service systems of public
libraries in both the urban and rural areas, and also a better way to integrate library services into
people’s lives and improve service efficiency. One of the prominent characteristics of the modern
public cultural service system is to promote socialized development and to make socialization an
important driving force for development. To expand and deepen Library+ on the basis of economic