A public library in Miaoli County’s remote Sanwan Township (三灣) has topped the Public Library Book Borrowing Charts compiled by the National Central Library for the third consecutive year.
According to Sanwan Library manager Hsieh Shu-chen (謝淑貞), the library has evolved into a communal center, as the township’s population is made up mostly of elderly people, children and some foreign nationals who work as caretakers.
The library regularly hosts courses to teach older people how to use modern technology and social media tools such as Line and Facebook, Hsieh said, adding that the townsfolk gradually adopted the habit of borrowing books because they were attending these lessons.
Pictures of library events are posted on Facebook, allowing those who work outside the township to see how the older people and children are doing, she added.
The library is open every day of the year, except during the Lunar New Year holidays, Hsieh said, adding that four staff members were hired to make this possible.
“The library is very remote and we do not want to see the disappointed looks of those who have come all the way out here to visit it,” she said.
The library pays its four employees with the help of the Miaoli County government and the township office, Hsieh said.
As no bookstores are left in the township, the library is the only source of books for residents, she said, adding that the library felt that it was duty-bound to become the township’s source of knowledge.
To that end, it brings in new books every two months and tries to satisfy all of the township residents’ requests, Hsieh said.
Sanwan Library periodically borrows foreign-language books from the National Library of Public Information to help migrant workers become a part of the community, she said.
Built in 1989 and located behind the township office, considerable effort has gone into making the aging library clean and comfortable, Hsieh said.
The library staff’s dream that the library would become “a warm place” for others has finally been realized, with its comfortable and relaxing atmosphere known both locally and in other townships, she said.
“Our dedication has helped the library maintain its annual average borrowing rate per person of 14 books for three consecutive years,” Hsieh said.
According to National Central Library data, in second place in terms of its borrowing rate is Hsinchu County’s Baoshan Township (寶山) public library at 7.17 books, followed by the one in Changhua County’s Yuanlin Township (員林) at 5.70 books.
The National Central Library said that Sanwan Library’s book borrowing rate is three times that of Taipei’s libraries, adding that it also exceeds that of libraries in Singapore and Hong Kong.
Miaoli County Commissioner Hsu Yao-chang (徐耀昌) on Thursday praised the library staff and presented them with a NT$20,000 award.
Ministry of Education funding has been set aside for library improvement projects around the county, Hsu said, adding that 11 county libraries, or 70 percent of them, have upgraded their facilities.
Additional reporting by Cheng Ming-hsiang
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