Library is booking stories of success

Lei Jingjing emerged last year as the leading borrower at Ordos Library by checking out 540 books. This impressive feat positions her at the top of the library's borrowing charts in Ordos in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

Lei's frequent visits were primarily to benefit her two children. Each week, she would escort them to the library, where her eldest, a fifth-grader, has a penchant for literature and history and her youngest, a first-grader, finds joy in the picture book section.

For over a decade, Ordos Library has consistently published its annual list of top borrowers. Like Lei, the top 10 borrowers each year predominantly check out children's books. With a population of just over 2 million, the city's library sees annual traffic of more than 700,000 patrons, the vast majority being children, teenagers and accompanying parents.

In 2023, the library's circulation exceeded 1.3 million, with the peak month being August with checkouts reaching 180,000.

"The library has dedicated reading areas for children and teenagers, including sections for electronic checkouts and digital experiences. Our peak periods are during the winter and summer months," says Wang Yisha, who has worked at the library since 2009.

Wang once encountered a patron who arrived with a suitcase to borrow books, using library cards for the entire family to check out more than 30 volumes in one go. The library restricts each person to borrowing eight books at a time.

According to borrowing records from recent years, the top-ranked books are predominantly children's literature that mostly focuses on history and culture.

"I feel that the reading culture is growing stronger. Parents are keen on fostering their children's reading habits," Wang says.

The library adopted an intelligent system more than a decade ago. Machines throughout the facility allow patrons to easily search for and borrow books. Each bookshelf is equipped with smart technology and the massive eight-story library, composed of three interconnected buildings, employs a staff of just over 50.