Hot words: Farm libraries

農家書屋(nóngjiā shūwū)

Ten ministries and central departments have jointly issued a document on improving the efficiency of services provided by farm libraries. Farm libraries are public cultural service facilities that provide reading and audio-visual materials to farmers. They have been established in local villages and managed by the villagers.

They were launched nationwide by the central authorities in March, 2007, with the aim of improving rural culture and safeguarding the basic cultural rights and interests of farmers.

Each farm library is required to have no less than 1,000 books, no less than 30 journals and no less than 100 electronic audio-visual products for farmers to borrow.

According to the new document, the authorities will promote the connectivity between farm libraries and basic-level public libraries to improve the utilization of resources through co-building and sharing. Farm libraries are encouraged to arrange regular reading activities to improve the service efficiency of farm libraries. The farm libraries should improve the quality of their materials and accelerate the provision of digital reading products and services.