Expensive big names usually have their cheap alternatives, referred to as "flat substitution", and community canteens, community libraries, and community cultural activity centers are also "flat substitutions" in another sense. But what people did not expect was that the community library on Jiangning Road Street not only attracted readers at the doorstep of their homes to come rain or shine, but also because of its "big name" experience, young bloggers all over Shanghai came to visit the museum. As of today's data, this sparrow library has climbed from 50,000 books in 2019 to 78,000 books in 2021, and has also won the first place in the 14 street libraries in Jing'an District this year.
Pictured: Citizens select books in the library Xinmin Evening News reporter Wang Kai photographed (the same below)
Features: Thousand yuan tomes for the king to read
As soon as you enter the library, you will have a feeling of visiting the bookstore, and the first bookshelf that catches your eyes is the recommendation of new books. Zhu Yuxiang, director of the Jiangning Road Street Library, said that half of the new books on the shelves every day will be borrowed that day. The bright windows are all designed as bar and card seats and sofa areas for the reader to read comfortably. The whole library is digitized, self-service borrowing, and the positioning system is much easier and faster to find books.
Moving from the original site to the second floor of No. 710 Changping Road, the library has less space for books in its collection by half, but it still leaves willful space for fine art books to lie flat. The complete copy of "Dream of the Red Chamber" painted by Sun Wen of the Qing Dynasty, the "Art Museum" priced at 1680 yuan, and the "Chanel Flower Field" collected by only three libraries in Shanghai... High-quality books that have been preserved in plastic enclosures in bookstores are all opened here for readers to read.
Pictured: Citizens reading books in the library
Art, architecture, design and history books have become the characteristic collection of "art and humanities" in Jiangning Museum, and Zhu Yuxiang has taken a unique path and purchased many Books on Shanghai history and architecture through a number of bookstores and publishing houses, attracting many "old Shanghai" from various districts. The library often receives calls from readers who retrieve niche books from the Shanghai Municipal Library's system and ask if a book is in the library. Many web bloggers interested in Shanghai architecture have also passed on the word of mouth to enter this small library into one of the must-check-in locations.
Instant: The curator works anonymously as a customer service
More than a thousand registered readers in the library, one-third of them are in the library's WeChat reading group, the books are new, and the group friends know it for the first time. The librarians have a clear division of labor, the 02th administrator has the longest working time in the library, looking for him to check the fastest; the 06th administrator is responsible for recommending new books, often the pictures have just been sent out, and have been booked by the readers; the 04th purchaser is Zhu Yuxiang himself, wearing a vest in the group, and has to answer questions.
Photo: Zhu Yuxiang introduces the library collection
At work, all administrators are involved in book selections. Usually, everyone will run to various internet celebrity bookstores to learn about the current best-selling books and bookstore-specific frequently sold books. For the characteristics of each bookstore, Zhu Yuxiang is like a family treasure. Last year, he also went to the Shanghai Book City and asked the chief book recommendation officer to open the locked glass cabinet and select a batch of high-quality books to return to the library.
Zhu Yuxiang said frankly that the library is a very good space for people who love to read, many citizens like to read, but there is little time to enter the library. As a result, the 24-hour self-service bookcase built on the outer wall of the first floor is convenient for another group of readers. "After all, the library is closed relatively early, we can see from the background that often at eleven or twelve o'clock at night, there are readers to borrow books," Zhu Yuxiang revealed, this bookcase containing more than 200 books does not need to apply for a library card, WeChat sweep can borrow books for free. During the day, customers at the café next door often come over to borrow a book and spend the afternoon with a cup of coffee.
Photo: 24-hour self-service "smart library"
Heartwarming: Special volunteers give back to the community
The number of borrowings in the Jiangning Pavilion has climbed for three consecutive years, which is indeed rare at a time when paper books are being hit. In order to attract a more diversified readership, Zhu Yuxiang consciously adjusted the book structure of the collection and increased the proportion of children's picture books, and this year's parent-child books have accounted for 46% of the total borrowed books.
On weekends, there are always 20 or 30 pairs of children's shoes at the entrance of the children's reading room, and the children sit on the lazy sofas and large soft stools that are regularly changed, enjoying the fun of reading. On weekday mornings, volunteers in yellow vests will sort out books. Yesterday morning volunteer Wu Zikai came from Yangpu District, his child just entered the love class on the fifth floor of the Jiangning Road Street Community Party and Group Service Center in September, which is a project initiated by Cao Peng and Cao Xiaoxia for autistic children, he is very grateful to Jiangning Road Street for giving a loving learning environment for autistic children, so he used half a day to wait for children to do what they could for the street library. Wu Zikai admitted that he is also a reader of the library, and he has to borrow 10 books every time to go back to the children to read, often reading them in two weeks and bringing them over to change a batch.
Pictured: Wu Zikai volunteers at the Jiangning Street Library every week
At present, about 30 parents have joined the volunteer team, including the mother of 12-year-old Lin Yuze. One day, Yuze's mother finished volunteering, saw the sunshine outside the window, took a photo, became lin Yuze copied the blueprint, acrylic paint painted blue card seat cushion and the window rich green trees, bright colors, bookshelves near and far rich layered. Once Zhu Yuxiang visited a painting exhibition at the National Exhibition and Convention Center, suddenly saw this painting, his eyes lit up, isn't this painting his own library? So he found Yuzawa's mother and hung the painting back on the wall of the library.
Pictured: Lin Yuze's Jiangning Road Street Library
Zhu Yuxiang said that library volunteer service is an important part of public cultural services, and this team of parent volunteers has become an indispensable force for libraries. Yuze's mother said: "We can volunteer on the second floor, which shows that the children are very relieved to take classes on the street, and the process of volunteering also makes us feel calm inside, and the time of the morning has passed at once." The painting also inspired Zhu Yuxiang, who planned that in the near future, he would collect the paintings of the children on the fifth floor and hold a painting exhibition for them. (Xinmin Evening News reporter Zhao Yue)