Page 88 - Journal of Library Science in China 2020 Vol.46

CHEN Geng & HU Yachun / The attribution analysis of low participation in public reading 087
among rural residents: A survey from 77 administrative villages and rural libraries in Hubei Province

fact that rural residents are not effectively stimulated by public reading. The traditional concept
of service planning and management is outdated and cooperative production is needed as an
integrative mechanism and an incentive for resource mobilization (Bovaird, 2007). At present,
cooperative production has expanded from two sides between the government professionals and
citizens to the networking cooperation among government, public institutions, social organizations,
market, communities and citizens (Nabatchi, Sancino, & Sicilia, 2017). Therefore, drawn upon the
cooperative production theory, it is suggested to focus on public reading stimulus and stimulation
means, establish a vertical and horizontal cooperative production mechanism, optimize resource
allocation and innovate stimulation means.
In the process of optimizing the allocation of incentives, we should make overall planning at
the grassroots level horizontally, integrate the reading resources from different departments of the
government effectively, strengthen the central-branch library system of the county-level public
library and the farmer’s reading room, the joint interaction and resource sharing among township
cultural centers. And it is also sensible to encourage rural reading enthusiasts and private libraries
to join in the resource production process to establish a cooperation mechanism for the production
of grassroots public reading resources. Vertically, we should establish a cooperative production
mechanism between governments at all levels and public cultural institutions, carry out “bottom-
up” resource allocation at the demand side guided by the actual needs of farmers, and improve
the adaptability of reading resources. For example, an information platform for collecting rural
people’s reading needs can be established at the central level, and the local government can
establish and improve the mechanism of collecting public demands through questionnaire surveys,
field researches and online collection, and so on. Rural village committees and other organizations
should play the role of contacting, publicizing and mobilizing. Rural residents should actively
reflect their public reading needs and opinions through the information platform, government
demand collection and village committee surveys.
In addition to cooperative production, it is also necessary to strengthen the cooperative governance
among various subjects, especially to strengthen the publicity and service management level of
grassroots rural reading promotion. At present, the awareness of public reading institutions such as
farmers’ reading rooms is less than 50%, reflecting the lack of effective communication. Therefore,
it is necessary to change the current situation of emphasizing resource allocation and construction
and neglecting operation management, supervision and guidance in rural reading promotion. We
should strengthen the publicity of rural public reading promotion, and make full use of mass media
such as TV and newspapers, emerging media such as Internet and mobile Internet, as well as
traditional means such as rural billboards and radio, and establish a comprehensive communication
stimulation system. At the same time, it’s also advisable to establish a supervision mechanism
for cooperation among the government, public cultural institutions, the third-party evaluation
institutions, the media and the public, promoting the institutionalization and normalization of
supervision and improving the level of management and service of rural public reading institutions.