China’s First! Ningbo Achieves Full Coverage of Children’s Libraries
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- Category: Ningbo News
- Published: Wednesday, 22 January 2025 15:34
By the end of 2024, all 10 districts (counties and cities) in Ningbo had completed the construction of children’s libraries, with openings scheduled around New Year’s Day 2025. This achievement marks Ningbo as the first city in China to achieve comprehensive coverage of municipal and county-level children’s libraries.
In July 2024, the Ningbo Children’s Library officially opened, focusing on “child-friendly” and “graded reading” services, with the service philosophy of “equality, friendliness, wisdom, and diversity.” It provides readers, especially children of different ages, with services such as book lending, reference consultations, reading guidance, and promotional activities. Since its opening, the library has welcomed approximately 500,000 visitors and held 267 events, attracting nearly 800,000 participants.
Since July 2024, districts (counties and cities) in Ningbo have completed the construction of children’s libraries through methods such as building replacements, expansions, and renovations. For instance, Haishu and Jiangbei transformed their existing district libraries into children’s libraries; Beilun and Yuyao expanded their original libraries; Yinzhou, Fenghua, Cixi, and Xiangshan renovated existing Xinhua Bookstores; while Zhenhai and Ninghai repurposed facilities such as district New Era Civilization Practice Centers, Peiju Libraries, and the Pan Tianshou Art Center.
During the construction process, children’s libraries in each district (county and city) carefully considered the characteristics and needs of children by implementing age-specific reading systems and providing diverse educational toys and play areas.
ple, the Yinzhou Library features functional zones for exploration and discovery, leisure reading, and educational play, offering tailored services for children of all ages. Spatial designs in children’s libraries highlight regional characteristics by incorporating local history and culture into reading spaces and book collections. The Beilun Library, for instance, integrates the legacies of local cultural figures He Youzhi and Zhou Dafeng by creating spaces such as the Youzhi Art Gallery and Dafeng Theater.
In addition, these children’s libraries have enhanced smart experiences, utilizing advanced intelligent equipment to create immersive and interactive public cultural spaces. For example, the Jiangbei Children’s Library features smart reading spaces like an intelligent companion reading room, a VR space capsule, and an AI picture book reading area, providing young readers with a more engaging and innovative reading environment.
As of the end of 2024, Ningbo had built a total of 4,477 libraries of various types and levels, including one municipal library, 10 district and county libraries, 146 township and street libraries, 532 community libraries, and 1,997 rural reading rooms. The city also boasts 171 “Tianyi Reading Rooms” and 1,620 “Micro Reading Rooms.”
In recent years, Ningbo has continuously advanced the standardization and equalization of urban and rural public cultural services, creating favorable reading environments and convenient conditions for its residents. With a variety of city-wide reading activities, Ningbo has brightened every corner of the city, fostering initiatives like “Tianyi Reading Rooms” and “Micro Reading Rooms” to expand public reading spaces. These efforts have further enhanced Ningbo’s reputation as a “City of Books.”
In the new year, children’s libraries across the city plan to host over 2,000 reading promotion events, such as “Reading Classics with Children” and “Tianyi Night Reads,” encouraging more children to explore libraries and enriching their cultural and intellectual lives.
