At 10 a.m. this morning (September 3), Hsu-Cheng Tseng, Deputy Mayor of Tainan City, arrived at 7-ELEVEN An Kao Store to host a ceremony, “Convenient Stores Are Your Libraries,” to announce that book circulation service is available now in convenient stories in Anding District, Tainan City. In the ceremony, Deputy Mayor Tseng witnessed the practice of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by Tung Chu, Director of Anding District in Tainan City, and Yu-Chuan Lin, Tainan District Manager of President Chain Store Corporation.
According to Tung Chu, Director of Anding District in Tainan City, district office team exercised creative thinking, combining the high availability of convenient stores to provide book return and pick-up services to readers of Anding community. The activation of this service is groundbreaking in librarianship as well as unique in Taiwan. Not only can readers borrow or return books without being restricted by libraries’ open hour, but also readers can reserve books online via smartphones at any time, picking up books at a convenient store nearby their home. It feels like libraries are right next to your doors. For the time being, Hi-Life stories, seven 7-ELEVEN stores, and four FamilyMart stores in Anding District provide book return and pick-up services. A test run of this service from November 2014 to August 31, 2015 showed that 15,354 and 665 books were returned and picked up respectively in convenient stores.
A speech delivered by Deputy Mayor Tseng states that creating positive reading atmosphere in Tainan City has always been one of important projects in Mayor Lai’s policy blueprint. Reading can change, flip, and enrich our life, and furthermore, increase our knowledge. To build a reader-friendly and humane city, creating a positive reading atmosphere is the key. Deputy Mayor Tseng expressed his appreciation to retailers who provide such a convenient service to benefit Anding community, and meanwhile, encouraged that representatives of retailers recommend their head offices to promote such a beneficial service to every district of Tainan City, and then farther to every corner of Taiwan.