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A new chapter

China's public libraries have also undergone a transformation. At the end of 2014, the country was home to 3,117 public libraries, housing 790.52 million books, a rise of 5.6 percent compared with the previous year, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

"Promoting the cream of traditional Chinese culture has become an important part of the government's daily work, so libraries have enjoyed a rare opportunity to develop," said Han Yongjin, director of the National Library of China.

The library is not only the world's third-largest by area, it's also a treasure trove of literary artifacts, and by the end of last year it housed more than 35 million books. In recent years, its collection has grown by 1 million books a year. The situation is a far cry from the days when the library was criticized by readers for being detached from the grassroots.

"The National Library's lending system was suspended for a long time, which was very inconvenient. For us general readers, the experience offered by a library is more important than its size," said Kang Pei, a 33-year-old writer in Beijing.

Things have now improved. In addition to resuming its lending service in 2014, the library has also opened an online data platform for readers. The digital content it shares with other public libraries is more than 140 terabytes, and covers 1.6 million books, 1,000 magazines, 230,000 papers and a range of other items. The library's website has 6.55 million registered users, and by October it had posted 4,000 online videos of public lectures, according to Han.

"In the new era, the things readers demand from a library are more diverse, so better service in terms of digital resources will become necessary in the future," he said. "When public libraries provide basic cover for every county in the country, they will become the flagships of the public cultural services system."

According to a report submitted to this year's National People's Congress by the Ministry of Culture, since 2001, the central government has allocated 4 billion yuan ($613 million) for the construction of 1,086 county-level libraries and cultural centers. And a national law for public libraries is also being drafted.

"It's good to see more new technologies being used to serve readers, and I'm very pleased to have more community-level libraries in my neighborhood," Kang, the writer, said.

"However, it's still a little disappointing to find that most readers in the community-level library near my home are seniors rather than my contemporaries. Better management will be needed if libraries want to continue increasing their influence and become more attractive to visitors," she added.