When it comes to January 1
st
of each year in China, there are normally many new laws and regulations came into effect, which are direct measures of the government is taking to better solve many social problems and improve people’s livelihood . This year, one noticeable among many new enacted laws and regulations is the Public Libraries Law, which an important law in the area of public culture.
At present in China there are about 3153 public libraries set up by the government at the county level, however the network of public library facilities is not perfect enough, especially in some rural areas and the central and western regions. There are still gaps in the public libraries, about 12% of the counties in the country do not have public libraries. In addition, the service function of the public library is not fully played, because the service efficiency the utilization rate of these libraries is very low. For many people, it is still a hard problem to read book.
The new law is aimed to solve the above mentioned problems. In the new law, it defined the basic principles of state support of Public Library Development in old revolutionary base areas, ethnic minority areas, border areas and poverty-stricken areas. And the new law makes it clear that the key tasks for the public library service are extending to the grassroots and strengthen the humanistic care for minors, the elderly, the disabled and other special groups.
In the future, it becomes a legal responsibility of the people’s governments at or above the county level, to establishment, guarantee and supervise the legal responsibility and it requires governments at all levels to increase the investment to public library, strengthen the fixed premises and mobile services, self-help service facilities of the public library to form a service network of public library service which covering both urban and rural areas.
To make the people enjoy a more full public library service, the new law is also make it clear that the following four services provided by public library should be free:
1)
inquiry and borrowing of documents and information;
2)
public space facilities, such as reading rooms and self-study rooms, are open
3)
public welfare lectures, reading promotion, training and exhibition;
4)
other free service items provided by the state.
The new law makes it practicable of the central government’s requirements of promoting the social development of public cultural services.