Shanghai opens first public library inside a park (4)

Photo shows books on insects and insect specimens displayed at a library inside the Pujiang Country Park, Minhang district, Shanghai. (thepaper.cn/Yu Kai)

Shanghai's Minhang district on March 28 opened a small library inside its Pujiang Country Park under a pilot program carried out to integrate cultural and tourism resources, thepaper.cn reported.

Located near Gate 1 of the park, the library was transformed from a facility that previously served as the park's tourist service center. With a construction area of 92 square meters, it is now zoned for purposes such as exhibitions, reading, and leisure activities.

Stocking 15,000 books, including children's books, social science books, and art books, the library is also the first public library in Shanghai that offers books on horticulture and insects.

The library has an exhibition area, which allows visitors to learn about the cultivation of plants and the process of ecological restoration, as well as having a look at insect and plant specimens.

It also serves as a self-serve library that supports the borrowing or returning of items using self-serve equipment. People can directly enter the library with their ID cards or reader's cards.

In recent years, Minhang district has introduced reader stations, including 15 reading rooms and 20 bookshelves for residential communities, parks and business areas in an attempt to further enrich people's cultural life.