An academic conference themed "Chinese Path to Modernization: The Power of Public Libraries" was held in Changsha on August 21. 

According to the conference, by the end of 2024, the total collection of general literature in public libraries across Hunan Province reached 58.94 million volumes, 3.9 times that of 2000. The number of registered readers in public libraries provincewide increased from 366,000 in 1999 to 5.009 million in 2024, while the number of book borrowings in 2024 grew to 43.64 million.

Specifically, by 2024, Hunan had 150 public libraries at or above the county level, with 2,859 branch libraries. The total collection of general literature in public libraries at various levels around the province reached 58.94 million volumes, 3.9 times that of the year 2000. A total of 68 institutions house approximately 1.5 million volumes of ancient books. There are 288,032 TB of digital resources, with e-books totaling 34.66 million volumes.

Between 2000 and 2024, the number of book borrowings increased from 7.35 million volumes to 43.64 million. The number of visits to public libraries provincewide soared from 8.08 million to 50.1 million, representing a six-fold increase. The amount of  registered readers in public libraries rose from 366,000 in 1999 to 5.009 million in 2024.

The number of library-relevant events held annually increased from 1,458 to 15,050, with participations growing from 820,000 to 7.84 million, increasing by nearly ten times.

Over the past two decades, Hunan's public libraries have received 160 million visits online. The number of visits to the libraries' digital resources surged from 4.88 million in 2009 to 16.61 million in 2024, witnessing a 2.4-fold growth.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn. 

Translator: Pang Yuehui

Chinese source: hunantoday