THE Home Study public library that was inaugurated in Jiading District on March 8 is gaining in popularity. Located at 169 Jiatang Road in the Juyuan New Area, the 24-hour library has a floor area of 300 square meters and a collection of more than 5,000 books as well as 60 newspapers and magazines. It has multiple functions that include a self-service library, a community cultural space, a scientific innovation base, a base for volunteers and a recreational public area.

The 23-year-old bar counter waitress Shi Mengyuan is like a host who warmly greets guests, offering readers a sense of belonging. Shi loves her current job although she majored in medicine at university.

Home Study makes it more convenient for local residents to indulge in their love of books.

Chen Bo, who lives in the Juyuan New Area, comes to Home Study every few days.

Before the library opened, he had to travel a long way to a bookstore on Fuzhou Road in downtown Shanghai’s Huangpu District for books.

Every time new media editor Xu Yu sits down, Shi will serve him a cup of Americano which is Xu’s favorite. “I like this quiet place,” said Xu.

Lu Hui, who often takes her child to the library, still remembers her surprise when she first stepped into Home Study.

“The interior design, especially the plants and lamps on tables, is exactly what I thought a home study room would be like,” said Lu.

Jiading has established a comprehensive network of libraries and reading communities scattered in villages, enterprises and commercial areas in the district.

However, Home Study is unique in that. In addition to the books it offers, it is open all day and all night. With eating and drinking allowed, it is more like a home from home.

Teacher Zhang Xiarong from the Jiading District Experimental Primary School is one of many people who rarely have the time to go to libraries in normal opening hours. With Home Study being open 24 hours a day, it is much more convenient for people like Zhang. She registered for a reader’s card on the library’s opening day. “Now I only need to scan my ID card, pay a guarantee deposit of 100 yuan (US$14.52) and come here to read books at any time,” said Zhang. So far, about 200 people have registered for cards.

The library is said to have much in common with Italian architect Paolo Soleri’s Arcosanti, a utopian city in Arizona which seeks to rebuild relationships between people and fight against isolation in society.

The Chinese name of the library — wo jia shufang (我嘉书房) — means that the library is like a study in our home where we can go whenever we want to. “The value of the library is to make people reconsider their relationships with other people and the city. People come here for the sense of security given by their fellows when they read books together,” said Party secretary of Jiading District Experimental Kindergarten Zhang Zhiping, who named the library.

Greenland Group invested over eight million yuan in the library. A good investment as the success of Home Study has proved to have exceeded their expectations.

The project was launched by Shi Hewei, a project manager with Greenland.

“For now, we hope this library can bring popularity to the community. For a long-term plan, we aim to develop it into a more livable community,” said Shi.

“It is a risky attempt. Town and neighborhood libraries are usually well-located and occupy at least 500 square meters of floor area. However, there are no mature communities near Home Study, not to mention its smaller area and fewer books than other public libraries,” said Ma Huiyi, director of Juyuan New Area Culture and Sports Center.

The success of Home Study lies in the introduction of social resources. The library is jointly operated by Jiading District Library, Juyuan New Area Culture and Sports Center, Greenland Group Jiatang Company and other social communities including Summer School Volunteer Service Team, Juyuan Cuckoo Cultural Volunteer Team and Zhangjian Art Space and Honghai Industrial Company. All these partners play their own part in the operation.

The library is a member of one-card system of Shanghai Library which can facilitate self-service book borrowing, returning and card application by adopting self-service technology.

A wide variety of bookplates, including the earliest bookplates in China — the Guan Zuzhang bookplates — are on display at Home Study to create an artful environment. The bookplates are provided by Zhengjian Art Space, founded by Fu Yongkang who is professional in print arts. “Bookplates is a branch of print arts which matches my profession as well as the concept of Home Study,” said Fu.

“As long as your demands and resources can match the concept of Home Study, you will be welcome to join us,” said Ma.

While it is difficult to host a personally customized “reading party” in a public library it is a common event at Home Study.

“The chairs here are comfortable, delicately designed and distinguishing from each other,” said hostess Meng Xiao when she took part in a reading and sharing event and interacted with over 40 teachers from Jiading District Experimental Primary School.

“It may be like a task when a book sharing event is held in a school, but it is a gift when held in Home Study,” said Chen Fang, who organized the reading event.

Teacher Yan Hong also applied to the venue to hold a class meeting. “The meeting achieved a better effect than held in the classroom which has more restrictions,” she said.

Offering venue for rent is an approach to promote resource-sharing and benefit locals. Different from other public libraries, Home Study focuses more on two-way interaction between readers instead of a one-way service to enhance the identity of Home Study and improve reading experience.

“Adding more books and magazines in English language; Installing a self-enquiry machine; Adding more art books.” These are some of the suggestions left by enthusiastic readers which impress Ma.

Like other libraries in Jiading, Home Study also faces the problem of book lending. “We can buy new books but it seems hard to meet the taste of our readers, which is a main cause of fewer book loans,” Ma said. “We hope to break the bottleneck through effective interaction between readers.”

Ma hopes that a good interactive environment can be established and that is something that is gradually forming. Recently, the library hosted a home letters demonstration and sharing event which was well-received by participants and now has been developed into a regular event.

Chen Lei, a 50-year-old man who won his wife’s heart by writing love letters, took out the letters which were preserved in a safe and shared the story with other participants. “I love this unique event,” said Chen.

Currently, Ma is considering more enhancements to the soft power of the library to attract more readers. “We are now working on regulations on many aspects including reader’s feedback process. For the next step, forming an effective interactive mechanism will be our main focus,” Ma said.