Page 79 - Journal of Library Science in China 2020 Vol.46

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

state, but a relatively stable situation within certain space and a certain period of time. Therefore,
the circumstance of public reading is a value system and practical state formed by the integration
of external factors such as politics, economy, society, culture and system. According to the survey
data and material analysis, it was found that there were mainly two circumstances affecting the
low participation behavior of rural residents in public reading: one is a metaphysical value identity,
social mentality or cultural tradition formed by synchronic and diachronic environmental factors,
and the other is the physical cultural practice of rural residents.

3.3.1 The metaphysical practical values of rural field
The rural residents’ metaphysical value of reading is closely related to the value structure in
rural areas for a long time. The value structure in rural areas is determined by the total amount of
individual or family capital, and dominates their position in the social hierarchy. In the current
external environment, the values of “making money first” and “education without prospect”
formed by the pursuit of practical values, which emphasize economic capital and disregard cultural
and social capital, play a negative role in the participation of most rural residents in public reading.
In rural areas, economic capital is the root of all other types of capital. It is also the basic
capital with the strongest liquidity and can most easily be transformed into social capital
and cultural capital (Richardson, 1986). However, the transformation of social capital and
cultural capital into economic capital is “not immediate, and the risk ratio is large” (LI, 2008).
Moreover, the acquisition of the three kinds of capital is based on the accumulation of labor
time, but the return of economic capital after labor accumulation is explicit, direct and timely,
while the accumulation of cultural capital and social capital takes place in a relatively slow
process. No matter it is with regard to the improvement of educational investment or cultural
level, the expansion of relationship network or the enrichment of social relationship resources,
the “realization” process of the capital demonstrates the characteristics of time delay, slowness
and latency. Therefore, in relatively underdeveloped rural areas, when individuals or families
increase the total amount of capital, they often first seek the return of economic capital, and
then seek the promotion of cultural capital and social capital. It becomes a general value
tradition of pragmatism and utilitarianism, which is reflected in the sense of urgency for the
return of economic capital and the sense of hopelessness and anxiety for the return of cultural
capital and social capital.
The acquisition of economic capital, cultural capital and social capital of rural residents
is often confined to the rural area, which is relatively closed and bounded. There are two
main ways to break through this domain limit and increase the total capital of individuals or
families. The first is to go out to work and enlarge economic capital return. It is the general
choice of the majority of rural families. Working in cities makes many farmers the floating
population of “half farmers and half workers”. However, due to the influence of work mobility
and household registration, most of the migrant workers fail to break through their own class