Page 9 - Journal of Library Science in China 2020 Vol.46

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

nationwide reading promotion regulations. Some provinces such as Anhui and Zhejiang formulated
local library standards.
The release of laws, regulations and specifications not only provides legal guarantee for the
librarianship, but also enables the librarianship to be more professional and standardized.

1.2 Advances in the central-branch library system

At the end of 10th Five-Year Plan and the beginning of the 11th Five-Year Plan period, the
objective of “each county with a library” was generally achieved. To carry forward the equitable
access and broad coverage of public library services, some regions, especially the economically
developed Eastern area, took the initiative to establish the central-branch library system and made
some progress. In 2016 five ministries including the former Ministry of Culture (renamed Ministry
of Culture and Tourism in 2018) issued The Opinions on Promoting the Central-Branch System in
County Cultural Centers and Libraries, which made the overall plan of the central-branch system
in county cultural centers and libraries at the national level. At present, the central-branch system
with the county library as the central library and cultural service centers in towns and villages as
branch libraries is established in many regions. Elements such as service radius and population
are taken into account and immobile buildings, mobile services and self-service facilities are well
distributed. Some provinces such as Anhui and Shandong incorporate the Farmers’ Book Houses
into the central-branch system. Jiangsu and Guangdong offer new services such as the City Study
and the 24-hour Self-Service Library which receive public applause.
Adaptation is made to local conditions in constructing the central-branch system, including the
standard central-branch system focusing on overall management of staff, funds and properties, the
quasi central-branch system focusing on overall management of operations and the loose central-
branch system focusing on professional management and cooperation. Under the guidance of the
central-branch system, the construction of the regional service network has received fruitful results.
As of the end of 2018, over 25,000 branch libraries were built by 3,176 public libraries above the
county level. Compared with 2015, the number increased by over 12,000, nearly doubling that of
2015 . The system is beneficial to the comprehensive utilization and interconnection of resources
〇a ①
in public libraries, cultural centers at the township level and farmers’ book houses and to extending
public library services to grass-root areas below the county level.

1.3 To inherit and promote fine traditional culture in innovative ways

Libraries of all levels abided by the General Secretary XI’s spirit of “making characters in ancient
books come alive”(XI, 2014). With the support of key cultural projects such as the “Ancient

① From The Overview of Essential Data of the Development of Public Libraries (2015, 2018), Research Institute of the National
Library of China.