71 Regulations of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone on Public Library (for trial implementation)[深圳经济特区公共图书馆条例（试行）（1997）]

(Adopted at the sixteenth meeting of the Standing Committee of the Second Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress on July 15, 1997.)

Chapter Ⅰ General Provisions

Article 1 In order to develop the undertaking of public library of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone (hereinafter referred to as the Special Zone), meet people’s needs of science and culture knowledge, promote the construction of socialism spiritual and material civilization, these regulations are formulated according to actual situations in the Special Zone.

Article 2 Public library in these regulations refers to public welfare institution, which is invested and set up by people’s government at any level, open to the public, and has functions of collecting, sorting out, keeping, processing, developing literature resources and providing service.

Article 3 These regulations shall be applicable to the construction, use, supervision and management of public libraries of municipality, districts and towns.

Article 4 The People’s Government of Shenzhen municipality, according to the principle of setting up libraries of all levels corresponding to administrative divisions, shall lay down developing plan and network construction scheme of Shenzhen municipal public library, and build modern network of public library step by step to realize the common use of literature resources among public libraries.

The people’s governments at all levels shall encourage societies, enterprises, public institutions and individuals to set up libraries open to the public, and connect them to the public library network of the whole city.

Chapter Ⅱ Management of Public Libraries

Article 5 The municipal administrative department of culture is the competent department of public libraries (hereinafter referred to as the municipal competent department), performing the following responsibilities:

(1) drafting developing plan of public library;

(2) drafting construction scheme of public library network;

(3) formulating relevant regulations on the management of public libraries;

(4) organizing the performance of developing plan and network construction scheme of public libraries;

(5) supervising the operation of public libraries;

(6) supervising the implementation of these regulations.

The district administrative department of culture (hereinafter referred to as the district competent department) is in charge of the construction, supervisory administration of public library within their administrative power.

Relevant departments of finance, planning, personnel, construction, education etc. of all levels, shall assist the competent department to implement these regulations according to their respective responsibilities.

Article 6 The municipal competent department shall set up a library expert committee (hereinafter referred to as the committee) and consult with the committee on the following issues:

(1) developing plan of public library;

(2) construction scheme of public library network;

(3) design for the building of public library houses;

(4) operation rules of public library;

(5) operation work of public library;

(6) important issues of public library management.

Article 7 Shenzhen Library is the center of public library network of the whole city, directing the operation service of all municipal libraries, performing the following functions and duties,

(1) assisting the municipal competent department in the construction of library network of the whole city;

(2) organizing and directing the exploitation of literature resources and service in the whole city ;

(3) organizing and directing the research of library science in the whole city;

(4) organizing and directing the training of working staff in all municipal libraries.

Article 8 Registration application of public library shall be submitted to the competent department within 30 days from establishment of the library.

Merger, split and termination of public library and alteration of its address or name shall be approved by the original registration department and re-register.

Article 9 Houses, equipments and literature resources of public library are protected by law. Any units or individuals shall not disseize or cause damage to them.

The use of public library shall not be changed by any units or individuals.

Chapter Ⅲ Construction of Public Libraries

Article 10 People’s governments of municipality, districts and towns shall set up public libraries according to the population distribution and the development needs of economic and culture of their respective administrative divisions.

The layout, area, seats and book collections of public library shall accord with relevant regulations.

Article 11 The operation expenditure of public library shall be appropriated by people’s government at different levels from its administrative operation budgets. The increase extent of the operation expenditure shall proportionate to the regular increase extent of financial revenue.

The operation budgets of public library shall be used in the construction and expenses of public library and shall not be embezzled for other use.

Article 12 People’s government at all levels shall encourage national or foreign units or individuals to donate money, literature and equipments to public libraries.

Article 13 Public library shall install modern technical equipments positively for keeping , processing and transferring literature resources, according to the modernization needs of utilizing library’s literature resources and of service for readers, to improve service quality and efficiency of the library.

Article 14 Public libraries invested and set up by people’s governments at all levels shall be connected to public library network of the whole city with the Shenzhen Library as the center.

Libraries, set up by societies, enterprises, public institutions or individuals, may be members of the public library network of the whole city and shall obey the operation rules of public library.

Article 15 The municipal public library net shall perform the functions of common use of literature resources and different advantages, to reach the aim of coordination of purchase, centralize cataloging, and that books of all libraries may be borrowed and returned from any library.

Chapter Ⅳ Service for Readers

Article 16 Readers of public library shall obey its relevant administrative regulations.

Article 17 Readers may apply for a Reader’s Card according to relevant regulations of book management.

Article 18 The weekly open time shall not be less than 64 hours for municipal public libraries, 56 hours for district public libraries and 48 hours for town public libraries.

Public libraries shall be open in legal holidays and festivals. However, they may shorten open time and limit the open scope properly.

Article 19 Public libraries shall prescribe open scope for different readers. Public libraries shall not arbitrarily seal up literature materials according to standards other than relevant national regulations on prohibiting public accession to certain literature. Best edition of books, rare edition of books and other literature materials unsuitable for lending out, shall only be read in library.

Article 20 Public library shall display all books or partial books on shelves for borrowing and reading, and take efforts to design, build and maintain good environment for readers.

Article 21 Public library shall, according to the needs of readers, make catalogue and searching terminal for readers gradually, and direct readers to utilize the catalogue.

Article 22 Readers have the following rights in public libraries:

(1) searching bibliography for free;

(2) reading and borrowing literature for free;

(3) acquiring guidance from working personnel concerning the use of collection;

(4) acquiring answers of reading problems or specific services from working personnel ;

(5) participating in various activities for readers;

(6) putting forward suggestions and opinions to public library or the competent department .

Article 23 Readers shall fulfill the following obligations in public libraries:

(1) taking good care of literature resources and public facilities;

(2) returning literature before due day, and paying fine for overdue return;

(3) paying charge for use of the exploitation achievement of literature resources;

(4) abiding by other provisions of public library.

Chapter Ⅴ Collection of Literature

Article 24 Shenzhen Library is the institution for collection of publications of this city. Every publishing institution, enterprise and public institution shall turn over two copies of its public or internal publications to Shenzhen library.

Article 25 Public libraries at all levels shall develop their own collection characters gradually, and shall emphasize on collecting literature about reform and opening, high technology, Hongkong and Macau economy and local literature of municipality and districts. The municipal public library shall collect literature of patent, standard literature, and important national and foreign publications.

Article 26 Public library shall collect and store not only literatures recorded in traditional methods but also literature recorded in videotape, microfilm, compact disc and etc., to develop a system of diversity collection.

Article 27 Public libraries shall adopt national standards as technology rules on editing catalogues and other operations. In case there are no national standards, public libraries shall implement strictly the technology norms confirmed uniformly by the municipal competent department.

Article 28 Newly collected literature resources shall be registered in time and prepared for read. Damaged or old literature resources with no worth for use may not be disposed until the competent department approves.

Chapter Ⅵ Working Personnel

Article 29 Curator shall be responsible for public library.

(1) curator of municipal or district public libraries shall acquire a title of library researcher or vice library researcher, or have worked in library for more than 5 years and have senior rank or sub-senior rank of a relevant professional technical title.

(2) curator of other public libraries shall acquire a title of librarian or above, or have worked in library more than 5 years and have middle title of a technical post of relevant specialty.

Article 30 Public libraries shall strengthen the foundation of professional team of library, and shall employ professional personnel with knowledge of library science or other relevant science.

Article 31 The working personnel of public library shall acquire a degree of senior high school or above, and be able to answer reader’s inquiries concerning the use of literature resources and assist readers to find literature resources.

Chapter Ⅶ Encouragement and Punishment

Article 32 The municipal or district competent department shall grant honor or award to the units or individuals that have donated money, literature or equipments to public libraries, or have contributed to the development of public library.

Article 33 Unit or person, who commits the following acts against these regulations, shall be ordered by municipal or district competent department to make correction within a limited time.

(1) failing to register in consistent with relevant regulations after the establishment or alteration of public library;

(2) disseizing the house or equipments of public library;

(3) changing the use of the house of public library;

(4) embezzling the operation expenditure of public library;

(5) failing to open public library to readers on schedule;

(6) limiting the scope of literature open for public to borrow at discretion;

(7) failing to deliver sample books (or journals) of its public or internal publications to Shenzhen Library.

Unit or person, who commits the acts stipulated in item 2 or 4 of paragraph 1 and violates other laws, shall be investigated for legal responsibility by relevant departments.

Article 34 Library, collecting service fees without authorization or collecting excessive fees from a reader against these regulations, shall be ordered to return by municipal or district competent department within a limited time and apologize to the reader in public.

Article 35 Anyone who violates these regulations and causes damage to equipments and literature resources of public library, shall pay compensation according to relevant regulations.

Chapter Ⅷ Supplementary Provisions

Article 36 These regulations shall be applicable referentially to the management of libraries, set up by societies, enterprises, units or individuals.

Article 37 Literature resources mentioned in these regulations refer to materials recording knowledge, including books, newspapers, periodicals, patent publications, standard texts, meeting thesis, science and technology reports, audio and video productions, microfilms and electronic publications etc.

Article 38 These regulations shall go into effect as of October 1, 1997.