Visits to public libraries in the nation last year exceeded 100 million for the first time, an annual Ministry of Education report said.
That was an increase of 22.83 million visits, or 24.82 percent, from 2018, the report said.
Visitors last year borrowed 81.3 million items, rising 3.39 million, or 4.35 percent, from 2018, it said.
Photo: Hung Mei-hsiu, Taipei Times
While the number of e-books borrowed last year grew 46.55 percent annually to more than 2.55 million, the number of visitors who checked out printed books also increased 3.98 percent, it said.
Based on the figures, there was no “crowding-out” effect between the two formats, the Department of Lifelong Education said.
On average, Taiwanese last year visited public libraries 4.86 times and borrowed 3.44 items.
As of last year, 16.89 million public library cards had been issued, up from 15.95 million in 2018, it added.
Among the six special municipalities, Taipei last year had the highest percentage of residents with public library cards at 79 percent, followed by Taoyuan with 72 percent, Kaohsiung at 62 percent, Tainan with 60 percent, New Taipei City at 52 percent and Taichung with 45 percent, the report said.
Kaohsiung residents last year visited public libraries an average of 9.76 times, compared with Taipei’s 6.34, New Taipei City’s 5.18, Taoyuan’s 4.98, Taichung’s 4.18 and Tainan’s 3.8, it said.
Taipei residents last year borrowed an average of 4.87 items from public libraries, compared with 4.71 in Taichung, 4.42 in Tainan, 4.34 in Kaohsiung, 2.6 in Taoyuan and 2.59 in New Taipei City, it added.
Continued growth across various indicators demonstrates public libraries’ commitment to promoting their services, as well as a passion for reading, the department said.
The functions of libraries today have gone beyond the scope of traditional services, it said.
Besides lending materials to readers, libraries now also offer a diverse range of services that include events and discussions, it said.
These services allow libraries to be “not only public centers of knowledge and life-long learning, but also become an indispensable part of people’s lives,” it said.
China appears to have built mockups of a port in northeastern Taiwan and a military vessel docked there, with the aim of using them as targets to test its ballistic missiles, a retired naval officer said yesterday. Lu Li-shih (呂禮詩), a former lieutenant commander in Taiwan’s navy, wrote on Facebook that satellite images appeared to show simulated targets in a desert in China’s Xinjiang region that resemble the Suao naval base in Yilan County and a Kidd-class destroyer that usually docks there. Lu said he compared the mockup port to US naval bases in Yokosuka and Sasebo, Japan, and in Subic Bay
Police are investigating the death of a Formosan black bear discovered on Tuesday buried near an industrial road in Nantou County, with initial evidence indicating that it was shot accidentally by a hunter. The bear had been caught in wildlife traps at least five times before, three times since 2020. Codenamed No. 711, the bear received extensive media coverage last year after it was discovered trapped twice in less than two months in the Taichung mountains. After its most recent ensnarement last month, the bear was released in the Dandashan (丹大山) area in Nantou County’s Sinyi Township (信義). However, officials became concerned after the
DETERRENCE: US National Security Council Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell said cross-strait affairs are on the agenda at the US-ASEAN Special Leaders’ Summit The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday thanked the Czech Senate for passing a resolution supporting Taiwan’s inclusion in the WHO and other international organizations for the second consecutive year. The resolution was passed on Wednesday with 51 votes in favor, one opposed and 11 abstentions. In addition to the WHO, it also called for Taiwan’s participation in the “meetings, mechanisms and activities” of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the International Civil Aviation Organization and Interpol. In its opening, the resolution states that the Czech Republic “considers Taiwan as one of its key partners in the Indo-Pacific region,” while noting its
About 300 members of the Pilots Union Taoyuan and their families yesterday rallied outside the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) in Taipei to protest against not being allowed to take COVID-19 rapid tests instead of undergoing home quarantine. The CECC on April 27 announced a shortened quarantine period for Taiwan-based airline crew members. The new policy applies to crew members who have received a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days prior and requires them to undergo four days of quarantine followed by four days of self-health management for those returning from long-haul flights, and five days of
RSS