Page 89 - JOURNAL OF LIBRARY SCIENCE IN CHINA 2018 Vol. 43

QIU Guanhua / The construction of central and branch libraries in China since the 21st century 089

some leaders and colleagues in the library community may share the misconception that the goal
of full coverage can be achieved without setting up physical libraries.
Reading and lending service is the most basic service of public library. The number of visitors
to library and the volume of loan books are two important and even the most important indexes
in evaluating the efficiency of public library service. However, the mission of public library is
far more than lending and returning books. Compared with physical library, other service forms
cannot fully fulfill the mission of public library, especially in terms of reference and consultation,
reading promotion, cultural entertainment, etc. Shenzhen developed 24 hours block self-service
book borrowing and returning machine and put it into use in large scale. But it was obvious that
the leaders and library colleagues of Shenzhen had the clear understanding of the advantages
of physical library. So the self-service machine was only taken as a supplement of the physical
library after the establishment of “Library City” was basically completed. During the large-scale
promotion of the machines, the number of physical libraries also increased. As of the end of 2013,
Shenzhen City owned 633 public libraries and 200 24-hour block self-service book borrowing and
〇a ①
returning machines.
Although digital technology and network have been highly developed, we still need the full
coverage of institutionalized physical libraries to realize the mission of achieving universal
equality of public library service and safeguarding the cultural rights and interests of the common
people, including the access to equal information and acquisition of knowledge (L.Z. Yu, 2007).
New service forms, such as the self-service library, mobile library and “online lending, community
delivery”, should support the needs of physical libraries. They should be planned and designed
together with physical libraries in comprehensive consideration of the geographical environment
and demographic factors. The self-service library, the stops for mobile library or the delivery
stations for online lending and reading should be set up in the places where public libraries can
not achieve high efficiency due to the small population or the complex geographical environment.
These new service forms can further facilitate the readers to use the library and effectively improve
the overall service performance of central-branch library. Therefore, it is undoubtedly correct
that The Guidance instructs the construction of county central-branch library according to the
requirements for constructing physical libraries.

2.4 About “Library Plus”

As the concept of “Internet Plus” was put forward, “Library Plus” programs appeared in some
places and became a hot topic of concern. For example, community delivery (or home delivery)
is “Library plus Logistics”. Setting up libraries in cafes is “Library plus Cafe”. The cooperation
between libraries and bookstores is “Library plus Bookstore”. In fact, “mobile library” arising from

① Data source: the official website of Shenzhen Library, http://www.szlib.org.cn/libraryNetwork/view/id-1.html, retrieval time:
March 15,2017