Page 71 - Journal of Library Science in China 2020 Vol.46

070 Journal of Library Science in China, Vol.12, 2020

Table 1. Basic information of the surveyed residents
Percentage Percentage
Indicators Number Indicators Number
(%) (%)
Male 1,005 49.7 Primary school and below 512 25.3
Gender
Female 1,016 50.3 Junior middle school 636 31.5

Senior high school, technical
Under 18 288 14.3 Education secondary school 450 22.3
level
Junior college, college
18-28 377 18.7 graduate 406 20.1
Age
29-44 487 24.1 Postgraduate or above 17 0.8
45-59 515 25.5 10,000 RMB and below 849 42.0
60 and over 354 17.4 10,000-30,000 RMB 528 26.1
Personal
Student 466 23.1 annual 40,000-90,000 RMB 445 22.0
income in
Public functionary, 135 6.7 2018 100,000-200,000 RMB 161 8.0
institution staff
Enterprise staff 162 8.0 More than 200,000 RMB 38 1.9
Farmer 560 27.7 Living in the village 1200 59.3
Occupation Individual business 150 7.4 Migrant workers 586 29.0
Freelancer 264 13.1 Working as a migrant 167 8.3
Location worker for half of the year
in 2018
Retired personnel 96 4.8 while living at home for the 66 3.3
rest
Farming in the village while
Others 188 9.2 2 0.1
living in the town

2.2 Characteristics of low participation in public reading of sample groups

At present, the academia mostly uses the term “reading poverty” to describe the current situation
of rural residents’ lack of reading. Poverty mostly refers to the state of possession of resources and
wealth, which has a derogatory meaning. With the promotion of the project construction such as
the county-level public library branch system, mobile libraries, rural libraries and farmers’ reading
rooms, it is not appropriate for rural reading resources to be referred to as poverty. Therefore, we
choose a more neutral concept to refer to the current situation of public reading of rural residents—
low participation. Low participation originates from the ladder theory of public participation
proposed by Sherry R. Arnstein (1969), who divided public participation into three stages: non-
participation, low participation and high participation. Compared with poverty, low participation
implies contemporary citizens’ consciousness of right. According to the survey data and interview
materials, the current public reading of rural residents is at the stage of low participation reflected