Library invites readers to take books home during facelift
A notice posted by Xuhui Library encourages readers to borrow 50 to 100 books each home during its major renovation.
Xuhui Library is encouraging readers to take its collection back home and return the books two years later, while the popular site gets a major facelift from January 2020.
Over 100 readers have applied and signed contracts to borrow and take care of 50 to 100 books each for the library on Nandan Road E.
The library was opened in 1957 on Caoxi Road N. and moved to the current site in December 1990. It has a large number of members, mainly nearby residents.
The first renovation in three decades will see its structure reinforced and elevators replaced. The library will shut down and stop its services from January 2020.
Each adult can borrow at most 100 books, while each child will receive a box with 10 randomly chosen books and small souvenir, said Tong Zhen, an official with the library.
The library has carefully sorted the books for children and categorized them for preschool and older kids, Tong said.
The "Bring Xuhui Library home" campaign will run through the end of the month.
The participants should sign a commitment and service agreement with the library. They need to promise to bring the books back to the library intact, said Tong.
A local family borrows a large number of books from the Xuhui Library ahead of its major renovation.
A reader picks books at Xuhu Library.
"To allow readers take the books home is better than locking them up for two years," she said. Many older readers were disappointed when hearing about the suspension of the library, but they can at least read at home, she added.
Normally, each reader is allowed to borrow 10 books for a maximum of two months at a time.
"I've been borrowing from the library for over five decades," said a reader named Zou. "I spent my middle school, university, work and retirement in its reading room," he said. Zou has chosen 80 books and is gradually ferrying them home.
Apart from the borrowing campaign, the library will also send part of its collection to the subdistricts across Xuhui and community reading rooms. Some companies can also sign agreements with the library to borrow a large number of books for their libraries for two years.
Library staff prepare random book packs for children.
