Ningbo Library

Borges once said, “I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of a library.” For Ningbo, a City of Culture and a Gateway to the World, the importance of libraries is even more self-evident.

The Ningbo Municipal Library, founded in 1927, can be traced back to the earliest public library in modern Ningbo - Xue Lou. In 1884, Xue Fucheng, the governor of Ningbo, Shaoxing and Taizhou and also a "reformist", built a Kōraku-en on the west side of the government office, and set up Chongshi Academy in the garden. He also purchased books for scholars to read in Lanxiu Hall. After Wu Yinsun's succession, he further developed the collection of books in Lanxiu Hall. After the establishment of the Republic of China, the "Six Yi Association" built a public library in the north of the garden, and moved the books of Xue and Wu, as well as the books of the Ningbo Education Association to the library. To commemorate the Xue family, this building was named "Xue Lou".

In 1931, due to the withdrawal of Ningbo as a city, the Ningbo Municipal Library was renamed as the Yinxian County Library. The following year, it was relocated to Fuce Street. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War in 1937, the Yinxian County Library was relocated back to its original location. Since then, due to the war and social changes, the Ningbo Library was renamed and moved several times.

In 1989, Ningbo Library at Yongfeng Road, funded by Mr. Yue-Kong Pao, opened and was named Pao Yue-Kong Library. The library has a peaceful and pleasant environment with a rich cultural atmosphere. The building covers an area of 8187 square meters. After renovation and expansion in 2002, the area increased to 12000 square meters, making it a favorite place for Ningbo people to borrow books.

At the end of 2018, after more than three years of construction, the Eastern New Town Library of Ningbo Library officially opened, becoming another trendy destination for netizens. The new Ningbo Library is an integrated building with four floors above ground and one floor underground, with a total construction area of 31800 square meters, a collection of approximately 1.5 million books, 3.5 million e-books, and 2100 reading seats. In addition to the traditional book borrowing function, the new library has also created cultural spaces such as a self-service library, maker space, music hall, Qiaoshi study, and sister city study, refining the target audience for young children, adding functions such as baby care rooms, restaurants, and leisure areas, striving to provide readers with a better reading experience and service environment.

Reading is one of the beliefs of Ningbo people. Tianyi Library Museum highlights the millennium cultural heritage of Ningbo, and Ningbo Library, with more than 90 years of development, is trying to write a new chapter of Ningbo.