Community libraries house the poetry and distant places of young people

Community libraries are the new favorite of young people today. What is it about them that makes them the favorite of young people, surpassing city libraries and coffee shops? In this article, the author analyzes and explains the reasons why community libraries are so popular. You will get the answer after reading this article.

While you are still squeezing into the subway to go to the city library in the hot summer, and spending thirty or forty yuan to order a cup of mocha and enjoy the air-conditioning in a coffee shop, some people have already taken a walk in their pajamas and flip-flops to the community library 300 meters away to experience the "poetry and distance" at their doorstep.

Community libraries, as the name suggests, are libraries set up in streets and communities. Public information shows that community libraries are an important part of public reading spaces, usually referring to grassroots libraries led by the government or co-organized by social forces to serve residents in the area, and are also an extension of public library services in residential communities.

Community libraries are scattered all over the streets and alleys of the city. Generally speaking, there is one every 2-3 kilometers, and if you are lucky, there are three within 500 meters. They are usually not in busy places, nor are they magnificently decorated. Instead, they are hidden in the center of civic activities. You often need to go through layers of communities and finally find them on a street that is not easy to find.

They are also different from the current provincial and municipal libraries, as well as the popular internet celebrity libraries, and proudly stand out in the rankings of major libraries with an indifferent attitude.

Generally speaking, community libraries are visited by the elderly or children brought by their parents to learn and receive instruction, but now more young people are beginning to invade community libraries.

Although the decoration is not fashionable, the community library has everything, including free hot water, Wi-Fi, air conditioning, etc., to meet all the needs of people who need to study, work or enjoy the cool air. On a certain social platform, search for "community library" or "street library" and you will find that community libraries are becoming the new favorite of young people because of their convenience and free features.

Some people call it a "little-known free reading place". In the eyes of some people, it even ranks among the top three most visited libraries along with the Capital Library and the National Library.

Unlike provincial and municipal libraries, they are not only far from home and in short supply; nor are they as noisy as KFC, McDonald's and Starbucks, and they do not have paid study rooms with monthly fees that can be thousands of dollars.

There are not many free places left for young people in big cities. On social platforms, these people call going to community libraries "fleecing the public". In their eyes, community libraries have achieved the goal of "public libraries are the second living rooms of citizens".

1. Why are community libraries becoming the new favorite of young people in cities?

For many young people in big cities, the library is their last spiritual harbor and refuge in the big city. They come here to read, study, rest or escape. But now, with the increasing demand for civil service examinations, postgraduate entrance examinations, and certification examinations, provincial, municipal, and even district libraries are overcrowded, and it is difficult to find a seat, and it is not always possible to get the books you want.

It is in such circumstances that community libraries that can be found everywhere have become the last refuge for young people.

Li Xiaohai, who works in the IT industry in Shanghai, turned to the "community library" near her home after failing to get a seat at the Shanghai Library again and again. Li Xiaohai is used to going to the library on weekends, but it is difficult to get a seat with a socket in the East Branch of the Shanghai Library on weekends. She also tried to go to Putuo Library and Pudong Library, but there were seats but no sockets, and she couldn't even get a seat at Putuo Library. Unable to get a seat with a socket, Li Xiaohai simply stopped going.

Once, she searched for libraries near her home on her mobile phone, and the "Ganquan Road Street Library" caught her eye. "There are many street libraries in Shanghai. I feel that there may be at least one within two or three kilometers of every old residential area." This library is close to her home. The entrance is in a nearby residential area, and the first floor of the main building is the newspaper and magazine area.

Li Xiaohai said that many elderly people come here every day to read newspapers, as well as the readers and Youth Digest libraries she is familiar with: "The street library is not as hard to get a seat as the big libraries in each district. The regular patrons are the elderly from the surrounding areas, who can sit there and read newspapers all day long. Some libraries even have video equipment, so they can watch news videos." For Li Xiaohai, she likes to pick a spot with an outlet here, and when she looks up, she can see the ivy and osmanthus trees outside the window.

Due to the unique opening hours of community libraries, from 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. and from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., which coincides with the working days of most young people, most community libraries are deserted during the day. In addition, they are hidden in the community, so they have become a Feng Shui treasure in the eyes of some people.

Like Li Xiaohai, many people fell in love with the community library out of comparison, calling it an "underrated street library" that is small but has everything.

Books that you may not be able to get in the capital library can be easily obtained at the street library near your home.

People who are taking the civil service exam regard this place as the "best place for civil service exam takers". For them, a shared study room costs more than 500 yuan per month, while they can study for free in the community library, which also provides hot water and Wi-Fi.

Unemployed people come here to "make use of community resources" and use the "community gym, canteen and library" near their homes to regulate their lives after unemployment.

Even those who come here not to study or read, but to enjoy the cool air and air conditioning, also regard this place as a "good place to go in summer."

Community libraries have won out with their strength and become the new favorite of young people. They spend a lot of effort to find a good place, but when they look back, they find that the place is just at the corner of the street.

2. It is easy to fall in love with a city library, but to keep visiting it, you also need to consider its “accessibility”

Just like Shenyang chicken rack, if you ask a Shenyang resident which chicken rack is the best, he will say the one downstairs is the best. The library is also the most delicious one, which is close to home. There is a community library 200 meters, 300 meters, or 500 meters away from home.

In fact, many cities in many countries attach great importance to the construction of community libraries. According to the standards of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, a branch library should be established in the main residential areas of the city, usually about 1.5 kilometers away from the library. Take Beijing as an example. In the 1990s, the construction of community libraries was advocated. According to statistics, as of 2012, the coverage rate of community libraries in Beijing's urban areas reached 90%.

In 2020, Beijing Tourism and Culture published an article stating that as of now, the city has built a four-level public cultural service facility network, with a total of 6,830 facilities and a coverage rate of over 98%. By 2035, digital libraries and digital cultural centers will be fully covered in all districts. The per capita building area of ​​public cultural facilities in the city will increase to 0.45 square meters.

For some people, the existence of a community library allows them to not care about the sense of ceremony, "no need to get up early, dress up, or buy a cup of coffee", because it is right next to their home.

For Liu Cheng, who works in Beijing, every weekend she has to dress up before going to the Capital Library, just like going out to meet friends. Usually, it takes almost two hours from the time she starts to dress up to the time she sits in the library. So for her, who has a procrastination problem, it is not easy for her to go to the Capital Library three times in half a year.

But since I saw someone post a recommendation on a social media platform about a community library near my home, it has become very easy to go to the library on weekends. You don’t have to put on makeup or think about what to wear. You can just put on a T-shirt and flip-flops, and even put on sunscreen. You can reach the community library in the time it takes to take a walk with an umbrella.

The first community library Liu Cheng visited was the Tuanjiehu Library. It took her only fifteen minutes from packing to sitting in the library. The time was mainly spent on finding the community library after entering the community. The community library is located in an old residential building. She was shocked when she saw it for the first time. Such a delicate cultural community was hidden in this dilapidated residential building. As soon as she entered the library, the cool air made her want to stay here. She didn't need to go through security checks or register. She could just go in and sit down to read.

Every time she went there, she could basically see two or three old men sitting on the sofa by the window reading books. She sat at the desk area, with her phone connected to Wi-Fi and placed aside. When she was thirsty, she would get hot water. The bathroom was also very clean.

The first time here, Liu Cheng sat for three hours and read a book of essays by Chi Zijian. Community libraries can even help some people reshape their regular lives. Graduates who have just left campus and are not yet adapted to life crave a convenient library, and unemployed people also need a feeling of going to work to relieve anxiety.

Zhao Guoer failed the postgraduate entrance examination this year and came to Beijing in April to work in an MCN company as an operator. She quit after working for more than a month. Now she lives with her former classmates in a 10-square-meter room. Seeing her roommate go out early and come back late every day, she is very anxious. She has not found a job for a month and she doesn't want to be perfunctory like in her last job.

So during the day, she and her roommate go out at 8:30 to read books, submit resumes, and run her own public account at the community library near their home; when the library closes at noon, she will go back to sleep or make a simple meal for herself, and appear at the library on time at 1:30 until it closes at 5 pm. Going to the community library every day has reduced her anxiety and reduced her consumption. In addition to submitting resumes and occasionally going out for interviews, she spends her days in the community library.

Zhao Guoer said that she had also tried going to coffee shops, Starbucks and KFC, but those places were a bit noisy. Also, it was okay to go there occasionally, but if she went there every day she would feel embarrassed not to order something. However, ordering once would cost dozens of dollars, which was all unnecessary expenses.

So when Zhao Guoer found a community library near her home, she felt like she had discovered a new world. For her, spending time in the library felt like she was still working, and at least she didn't feel the waste of lying in bed and wasting time.

3. The most feared thing about a treasure trove is that it is easily overcrowded

With the arrival of summer vacation, community libraries in some cities have started requiring students to take numbers to reserve seats.

But this still cannot stop young people's enthusiasm for community libraries. Some of them even want to work as community librarians.

There are many "fairy jobs" that young people today dream of, such as shop owners, supermarket ticket stampers, dormitory managers, etc. In recent years, librarians have also become increasingly popular. For young people who are prone to social anxiety, this job is a deadly attraction as they work quietly in a quiet atmosphere and hardly need to interact with others.

After Xiaohongshu blogger @高小高 posted his work experience as a community librarian on the Internet, many people posted comments asking how to apply to become a community librarian.

Li Xiaohai also envies the job of librarian in the community library. In her opinion, this is a magical job where "you can go home for lunch and take a nap at noon." For some people, the community library makes them want to spend every day here, and they are even willing to work here because of a rare sense of belonging.

For Cheng Fei, who has been working in Beijing for many years, the community library near his home is the first place where he felt a sense of belonging after three years of living in Beijing.

The first time Cheng Fei went to the community library 800 meters from his home, the security uncle asked him: What are you doing here? Cheng Fei said, reading. Perhaps because of the confusion in his eyes as he looked around, the uncle asked him again, are you from this street? Xiao Fei was stunned for a moment and said, I am from this street, that is, from the community opposite. The uncle nodded and said, "Go in, the books are in Room 311 on the 3rd floor." At this moment, Xiao Fei, who had been drifting in Beijing for several years, felt for the first time that he belonged to this city. (Li Xiaohai, Liu Cheng, Zhao Guoer, and Cheng Fei are all pseudonyms in this article).

Author: Xue Yaping

Source: WeChat official account: "Alphabet List"