Extensive library network spurs reading culture community

Linqu county in Weifang has made significant strides in constructing a universal reading culture, mobilizing social forces to build a robust reading community under government leadership.

The county has established an extensive network of 368 rural libraries and 30 employee libraries, with public reading venues offering 185,000 books and access to 1.25 million digital book resources.

At the entrance of the Linqu County Library, citizens are seen entering and exiting. [Photo by Liu Ruihua for chinadaily.com.cn]

Liqun County Library director Li Yanping highlighted the county's efforts in strengthening reading infrastructure and optimizing service experience through measures like staggered and extended opening hours. The library is open until 7 pm and remains open during lunchtime, on weekends and holidays, and on Mondays during the summer, totaling 10.5 hours daily.

In 2023, Linqu County Library was recognized as a "National First-Class Library". It has actively organized annual reading recitation contests, youth reading story meetings, rural reading seasons, and other county-wide reading promotion activities, hosting over 200 events.

Children show a keen interest in reading at the public reading space in Linqu county. [Photo by Liu Ruihua for chinadaily.com.cn]

Linqu has promoted reading among the general public by accurately meeting reader needs with basic public cultural services such as book lending, public exhibitions, lectures, training, and reading promotion. Over the past two years, the county has seen 520,000 volumes lent out, while its libraries have been visited 950,000 times.