Public-interest library in rural Fujian warms hearts of villagers | Kathmandu Tribune

By Wang Yinxin, Folks’s Day by day

Earlier than 7 a.m., a three-story home in Makeng village, Baisha township, Minhou county, Fuzhou metropolis, east China’s Fujian province, is already bustling with folks. The home appears to be like identical to an bizarre rural home, solely it has a library in it.

An indication hanging on the door of the home reads “Baishawan Library”. The signal has pale a bit, however the title of library is well-known to locals.

Baishawan Library was began by Lin Lixing, father of an area villager named Lin Yuekeng. In 2011, Lin Lixing visited a library in a neighboring township, and noticed villagers learn and research there. Deeply impressed by what he noticed, he shortly reworked the primary flooring of his home into the public-interest library after he returned residence.

As the primary library in Baisha township, Baishawan Library has been well-liked because it opened. In response to Lin Yuekeng, guests crowded the library on its first day.

It drastically gratified Lin Lixing, who was in his seventies then, to see that the library was full of scholars between 12 p.m. and a couple of p.m. on daily basis. Taking enjoyment of serving to youngsters take pleasure in books, he was busy working within the library all day and didn’t have time to take a midday break. At night time, after the final reader left, he began to rearrange books.

Within the third yr after the opening of the library, Lin Lixing handed away. After his father’s loss of life, Lin Yuekeng hesitated about persevering with to run the library. “The library is totally non-profit and requires a variety of manpower and materials assets,” defined Lin Yuekeng.

However he lastly determined to maintain it working, contemplating his fellow villagers’ thirst for information and his father’s final want.

“With this library, we don’t should go to the city areas of Fuzhou metropolis to learn books or purchase books ourselves, as a result of we will learn right here to extend our information totally free,” mentioned Chen Meifang, a villager who’s a daily of the library.

Now’s the busiest time of the yr for citrus growers, together with Chen. After spraying her fruit bushes with pesticide within the morning, Chen, nonetheless in her solar hat and muddy footwear and garments, went straight to the library eagerly. She discovered a e-book on inexperienced measures to stop and management citrus illnesses and bug pests and began studying.

“The e-book has every part I have to know. For instance, what fertilizer ought to be utilized, what pesticide ought to be used, and what precautions ought to be taken at every stage, from sprouting and blooming to fruiting, are clearly written in it,” Chen mentioned.

In 2006, Chen planted solely dozens of mu (one mu equals about 666 sq. meters) of navel orange bushes. As her information of and expertise in navel orange tree planting improve, she has develop into a significant grower and an knowledgeable within the subject in Makeng village.

Her “enterprise” couldn’t have flourished so nicely with out Baishawan Library, in accordance with Chen.

“I’ll take this e-book residence to learn. May you get me a e-book on rising peach bushes? I obtained the use proper of greater than 100 mu of farmlands this yr, and I’m going to plant peach bushes,” Chen mentioned to Lin Yuekeng.

“No downside. Simply come and take it subsequent week,” Lin replied.

The library purchases books based mostly on the necessities of residents. Villagers inform the library what books they want, and the library then assist get the books for them.

Over the previous 11 years, the variety of bookshelves within the library has elevated from one to greater than 20, and the variety of books has risen from 2,000 to over 30,000 in 18 classes, making the public-interest rural library with the biggest assortment of books in Minhou county.

Virtually each household of the practically 400 households in Makeng village has the cellphone variety of Lin Yuekeng. Villagers give him a name anytime they want new books. Lin works in Baisha township from Monday to Friday. He buys the books his fellow villagers want within the township and takes them to the library each Friday after work.

“My trunk is usually full of books. Generally I additionally purchase books on-line,” Lin advised Folks’s Day by day.

As we speak, in addition to residents of Makeng village, many building staff close by additionally learn and borrow books from Baishawan Library, which has introduced information and companionship to almost 10,000 folks dwelling within the three or 4 surrounding villages.

The small library has obtained assist from many individuals, in accordance with Lin, who disclosed that many villagers and faculty college students dwelling close by have labored as volunteers within the library, and many individuals, public establishments, and enterprises have donated books and bookshelves to the library.

The favored studying events and sharing actions held repeatedly on the library have attracted and benefited many contributors.

Although the library requires a variety of efforts, Lin and his household will stick with the rewarding trigger in order to draw extra folks to studying, in accordance with him.