Taiwan: 12 Public Libraries Purchased 270,000 Books in Past Three Years & San Francisco Public Library Signs an MOU with New Taipei City Library

From the China Post:

Twelve public libraries in the country purchased a total of 270,000 new books in the last three years, which have been borrowed by more than 620,000 people — meaning each new book has been borrowed 2.3 times on average — said the Ministry of Education on Monday.
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The ministry commissioned the National Central Library to carry out the four-year project in 2012 to expand book collections in national public libraries and improve service quality. Around NT$50 million [$1.54 million/USD] has been allocated to the project each year, said ministry officials.
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The idea for the project was triggered by the need to address the lack of professional knowledge on how to select books in rural towns, as well as the need to expand the range of choices for new immigrants, said the Director-General of the National Central Library Tseng Shu-hsien.
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According to the latest figures released by the MOE, of the 278,080 books in the resource centers’ collection, Chinese books account for 80 percent, while books in English and Southeast Asian languages consist of around 12 percent and eight percent, respectively.

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See Also: San Francisco Public Library Director Luis Herrera Visits Taiwan and Signs an MOU with New Taipei City Library (10/30/2015)

On October 21, Mr. Tang Lien-Cheng, Director of the New Taipei City Library, and Mr. Luis Herrera signed a Memorandum of Understanding establishing a sister relationship between these two major libraries. This is the first international agreement establishing an official partnership with a foreign country that the San Francisco Public Library has ever signed. The two libraries will foster collaboration in the fields of exchanges of library holdings, personnel visits and exchanges, cultural and art exhibitions, and other activities that would cater to their mutual interests.

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