Libraries as cultural centers in large new communities

in Guangzhou, China

Huang Qunqing

Zhang Xuhuang

Guangzhou has been developing rapidly

• Guangzhou has a population of some 10 million.

• Its growth in GDP in 2002 is 12%.

• The Engel’s Coefficient has dropped under 39%.

• More people invest their money to cars or new houses.

Large new housing estates around the downtown of Guangzhou city

A beautiful housing estate

Public facilities

Restaurant Supermarket

Bowling

Great cultural need

• Residents here are usually modern citizens with a good income and high literacy.

• These large new communities have been built up on rural farmland, and it takes at least 30 minutes by bus to the downtown.

• Residents have more spare time than before. • They need a healthy cultural environment

for children’s growing up.

A table of libraries’ area

Housing Estates Population Library area

Country Garden 30,000 685 m2

Guangda Garden 10,000 300 m2

Fangcun Garden 10,000 100 m2

Riverside Garden 43,000 100 m2

Clifford 70,000 200 m2

Guangdi Garden 20,000 100 m2

A clubhouse

This is the clubhouse of Guangzhou Country Garden,

The whole area is 40000 ㎡ , of which 685 ㎡ is for the library

A library

Another library

Various operation ways

• Open independently by the estates companies.• Open jointly by estates companies and Large

public libraries.• Open as bookshops where residents could read, or

buy the books. • Open as an online library to meet the trend of

residents’ e-life • Open a school library to residents on weekends

Libraries are essential as cultural centers

• New residents may pay more attention to recreational facilities, especially for the youngsters, but only part of residents would spend part of their spare time on recreational facilities.

• They would find that library is another nice free place for their pastime.

Difficult situation

• Developers may take libraries only as cultural selling spots in first stage. It seems hard for them to run libraries alone in the long term, for library is a public good, not a business.

• Public libraries have limited budgets, it is impossible for them to open a joint library in every housing estates. They think large housing estates is quite strong in finances to build libraries by themselves.

Solutions

• Compared with the large investment of billions to other facilities, developers of housing estates invest far less in libraries.

• Residents pay a realty management fee each month, in which a cultural expenditure should be included, and they should have free cultural service like a library.

• A voice is becoming louder for that, the library budgets in communities should be provided by government.

Thanks!

qqh21@hotmail.com