Inner Mongolia RTVU recently decided to implement an “Internet + RTVU Village Libraries” project to build a book culture network covering the entire urban and rural grassland regions with “RTVU Village Libraries” within five years (2016-2020) through an annual investment of 500,000 yuan. 

The initiative, launched by Inner Mongolia RTVU, is intended to strengthen the construction of “RTVU Village Libraries” and to expand on regional library construction the input for high-tech development, digitization, and information construction, further promoting educational equality and assisting cultural development work in rural grassland regions. 

In the next five years, under the pilot programme called “Internet + RTVU Village Libraries,” simultaneous construction will take place on physical and digital libraries, capitalizing on the RTVU system’s advantages and modern teaching methods to promote high-tech, digital, and informational construction of the physical and digital libraries to build a book culture network covering rural grassland regions. The book storage capacity of the physical libraries will be filled up by the annual investment of RMB 500,000, known as the “Book Public Welfare Fund,” in addition to cooperation with Taofen Foundation’s “Book Donation Project for National Reading Campaign,” which provides paper books worth 5 million Yuan. Inner Mongolia RTVU will technically support the development of the digital libraries. Inner Mongolia RTVU will grant the village libraries access to the OUC’s digital library through the “Open Lib” application and offer free reading services. Meanwhile, training will be offered for local maintenance staff. At present, the RTVU village libraries under construction or completed include two libraries in the community study centre of Erdos Branch and one library in Zhanggao town, Xinghe county, Ulan Qab.

It has always been a rich tradition of Inner Mongolia RTVU to “send books and teachers to the rural areas” to serve society at the grassroots level. To resolve the difficult case of low herdsmen literacy levels, the RTVU is taking action by setting up “RTVU Village Libraries” around them. With the library radiating knowledge outward, the RTVU has provided a fundamental guarantee for the herdsmen’s basic cultural life, contributing to the improvement of the public culture service system in the grassland regions. On April 15, 2011, the first pilot “RTVU Village Library” was established at Dakulian Secondary School, Xinghe county, Ulan Qab city, where CCRTVU (now the OUC) donated four computers and over 1,800 books, while Inner Mongolia RTVU donated one TV and 200 books. On October 18, 2013, the second pilot site opened in Alxa Right Banner, Inner Mongolia. The OUC donated more than 1,000 books and granted access to the “Open Lib” electronic library, while Inner Mongolia RTVU donated 600 books and electronic reading cards worth 25,000 Yuan, thus establishing the “RTVU Village Digital Library.” On October 19, 2014, Inner Mongolia RTVU once again donated to the “RTVU Village Digital Library” in Alxa Right Banner region, this time presenting 77 packages of books across different genres worth 100,000 Yuan. In April 2014, a joint review of experts organized by the OUC and Library Society of China selected the “RTVU Village Library” of Vocational Technology Centre in Alxa Right Banner over one hundred “RTVU Village Libraries” nationwide to receive the honour of the national “Demonstration Reading Site for Village Youth.” The “RTVU Village Library – Book Culture Site,” nominated by Inner Mongolia RTVU, was also awarded the Excellent Achievement Prize for Campus Culture Development by the Department of Moral Education, Ministry of Education.

By Inner Mongolia RTVU