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comes from associate organizations. The evaluation result is not closely related to incentive
system. Accordingly, the evaluation has not fulfilled its role of guiding and stimulating. The PLL
reforms and improves the evaluation system in four aspects (Article 47). Firstly, the PLL specifies
that public library service specifications should be formulated by cultural departments in charge in
the State Council and the provincial government so that evaluation of public libraries’ services is
based on relatively consolidated system in the national and provincial levels. It demonstrates the
administration according to law and the evaluation according to regulations. Secondly, evaluation
involving the social public changes the traditional in-system model and implements the model
that the public should take part in cultural evaluation established by the Public Cultural Service
Security Act. It also reflects that public cultural services focus on the people and their demands.
Thirdly, the evaluation result is open to society. The publicity of evaluation result can motivate
public libraries and is also good for the understanding and supervision of public libraries’ services.
The supervision of the process and result of governmental evaluation by the public is in accordance
with sunny administration and information publication proposed by the Public Cultural Service
Security Act. Fourthly, subsidies or awards to public libraries by the government are based on the
evaluation result. To associate evaluation with rewards is a significant breakthrough of the PLL,
a reform of previous disconnection of the evaluation and incentive system. Once the policy is put
into practice, the government is able to better promote the public librarianship by evaluation.

6 Promote the development of public library services and its integration with
modern technologies

Public libraries in China are at the forefront of national public cultural services in using modern
information and communication technologies to explore service innovation. Public libraries have
accumulated some well-known experiences. Confronted with the rapid development of modern
information and communication technologies represented by the internet, the PLL in the new
era gives much concern over and guidance to the building and developmental direction of public
libraries’ digitalization and networking.

6.1 Responsibilities of the government

The PLL prescribes in the General Provisions that the government should encourage and support
the functions that technologies have in the construction, management, and service of public
libraries (Article 8). The functions of technologies are embodied in the adoption of modern
information and communication technologies in public libraries’ services. The aim is to enhance
public libraries’ services, including equipment, resource carriers, means, resource delivery and
service efficiency and so on, which reflects the comprehensive support of modern technologies to
public libraries’ services.