Shanghai Library Prompts Debate on the Proposed Public Library Law
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A SYMPOSIUM was organized by Shanghai Library in the morning of December 31, 2015 in solicitation for comments on the proposed draft of ‘Public Library Law’.
The event was chaired by the Library Director Wu Jianzhong and his deputy Mr. Zhou Deming, and was participated by representatives of the library staff as well as scholars and experts of the city’s cultural sector. It is unanimously agreed that implementation of the long anticipated ‘Public Library Law’, the first ever of its kind legislated in China, will be of great significance in facilitating the construction of the public cultural service system and the development of public libraries of the country. The proposed draft, consisting of six chapters including “general rules”, “establishment”, “operation”, “services”, “legal liabilities” and “appendices”, are evaluated as comprehensively articulated and highly relevant to the issues of the Chinese public librarianship. Acclaims have been received from attendees of the symposium on features and highlights with respect to considerations on legislation, main responsibility to be shouldered by the local authority, involvement of non-government sectors in construction and administration, legal deposit mechanism, protection of readers’ privacy, the free service principle, and the idea of linking the governmental subsidiaries or awards with service performance. The participated experts also made some suggestions on specific provisions. |