If you tap your fingers on the screen, your favorite books will be delivered to your door within a couple of hours. Who would have thought that cultural consumption (文化消费) in China could become as easy as ordering a sandwich? Yet, it is now happening at the Chengdu Library.
The "Loving to Read at Home" program allows readers to log on (登录) to a mini program of the same name. Readers can then choose their favorite books and wait for them to be delivered (投递) to their home by EMS for just 6 yuan for one to three books. Each user can borrow up to eight books at a time for 30 days.
The program covers the whole city. More than 20, 000 books from 22 public libraries in Chengdu are ready for loan (出借). So far, more than 6, 000 books have been sent out to readers. "The library's new O2O (online to offline) path reduces the time cost for readers and allows them to realize that cultural consumption in China is a convenient part of people's everyday lives," expert Xu Shuming said. "Providing such service for readers is an important part of reaching China's goal of encouraging reading nationwide." The expert also added, "O2O book delivery services are successful in China since the country has strong delivery and e-commerce (电子商务)."
The Chengdu Library is not the only library providing books-to-go services. "Flying books home" is a similar program run by the Zhuzhou Library in Hunan Province. In Beijing, a similar service is also provided by the Chaoyang District Library.
To date, there have been more than 3, 300 public libraries and more than 100, 000 physical book shops across the country. Chinese people's interest in reading has been growing. The comprehensive reading rate (综合阅读率) in 2012 was 76. 3%, but grew to 81. 8% in 2022. "Reading has become an important part of promoting (促进) public education and increasing people's confidence in Chinese culture and tradition," said Xu,
①The convenient delivery service.
② The powerful e-commerce industry.
③The goal of encouraging reading nationwide.
