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028 Journal of Library Science in China, Vol.10, 2018

reform proposed by the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist
Party of China. Both the Accelerating the Construction of Modern Public Cultural Service System
released by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State
Council and the Public Cultural Service Security Act of the People’s Republic of China made
related provisions. The PLL prescribes that public libraries should set up and perfect the corporate
governance structure involving representatives, professionals and the public in management
(Article 23), which provides the legal basis for setting up and perfecting the corporate governance
structure.
The corporate governance structure is an operative structure for interested parties to participate
in management. The key task for public libraries to set up the corporate governance structure
includes: ① setting up the structure of decision making by the board; ② setting up the structure of
the management responsible for daily administration and accountable to the board; ③ formulating
regulations that administration and operation should follow. The provision of involving
representatives, professionals and the public in management is the de facto board including
interested parties. The purpose is to form a multivariant governance structure fulfilling the public
interest. The transformation of the government’s functions aims to separate public service units
from the government and government regulation from management. The PLL also strengthens the
public libraries’ autonomy of legal person to innovate vitality. The ultimate objective is to improve
the management and services of public libraries to better perform their social functions. Setting up
and perfecting the corporate governance structure is the reform of public libraries’ administrative
and operative structures in the new era, which fits in the general goal of modernization of national
governance structure and capabilities in the new era.
The Implementation Plan on Corporate Governance Structure Reforms in Public Cultural
Institutions released by the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the CPC, the
Ministry of Culture and five other departments was passed by the 37th Session of the Central
Leading Group for Comprehensively Continuing Reform in September 2017. The Plan put
forward requirements, basic principles, main content, supporting measures, organization and
implementation of the corporate governance structure. The Plan also gave guidance in most
concerned issues such as the nature of the board, responsibilities of interested parties, contents
of regulations, the role of the CPC in the board, autonomy of personnel management and income
distribution. The Plan is the blueprint and guide to set up and perfect the corporate governance
structure in public libraries.

5.3 Reforming and perfecting the evaluation system

It is a key measure for the government to promote public libraries’ development by reinforcing
evaluation of public libraries’ management, operation and services. For a long time, the evaluation
of public libraries by the government has been hierarchical and administrative, or evaluation