The Taipei City Government and the New Taipei City Government yesterday announced that residents of both municipalities can now borrow books from all 166 libraries in the two cities by using library cards issued by either.
Taipei Deputy Mayor Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻) and New Taipei City Deputy Mayor Lee Shu-chuan (李四川) yesterday morning announced the new policy at Taipei’s Main Library.
“Taipei and New Taipei City are closely connected, so resources should be shared among the two to create a win-win solution for both cities,” Chen said, adding that there are about 7.68 million books in the Taipei Public Library system and about 15 million books in New Taipei City’s libraries, and residents in either city would be able to borrow any of the books using their library card.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
About 23 percent of the people who applied for a Taipei Public Library card last year were residents of New Taipei City and they borrowed a total of 1.3 million books, which showed the need for shared resources, Chen said.
The new policy would make it more convenient for residents to borrow books, he said.
Asked whether Taipei would consider expanding the policy to cooperate with the Keelung City Public Library, a policy New Taipei City has already implemented, Chen said that if the Keelung City Government makes a proposal, the Taipei City Government would be willing to share its books and cultural resources.
Lee said traveling to Taipei to make the announcement reminded him of his experience working for the Taipei City Government for 25 years, joking that he could become a volunteer at the service counter in Taipei City Hall when he retires.
Chen, who has announced that he is to seek the Democratic Progressive Party’s nomination to run for New Taipei City mayor, said: “I want to return to New Taipei City.”
He hopes to use the experiences he has had as Taipei deputy mayor to serve the people of New Taipei City, Chen said.
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