| 11-01-2008 Suzhou
book caravans for minors modified from Higer buses were a featured service sponsored
by Suzhou Municipal Office of Civilization and undertaken by Suzhou Library at
the 1st Suzhou Reading Festival last year. So far, the "caravans" that
have been engaged in the service for more than one year have left their footprints
in 7 urban and rural districts of Suzhou, and there have been 15 service points
providing visiting services for 11 high and primary schools as well as 4 communities.
By the middle of October this year, a total of more than 250 "caravans"
runs had been dispatched to issue library cards and lend nearly 52,000 volumes
of books to more than 4,000 students through the internet. 
The
"caravans", which provide fixed-point and fixed-time services on a biweekly
basis, are modified from new-type Higer buses, with 15-meter-long special bookshelves
inside, a 11-meter-long caravan can carry 6,000 volumes of books each time, in
which there are not only water purifiers and dispensers, but also two hand-held
computers, a card printer and a barcode reader connected to the library through
the internet. Most
of the students at the suburb of Suzhou have never been to Suzhou Library due
to traffic inconvenience. However, the entry of the "caravans" into
schools opened the door to the palace of knowledge for students by helping them
work out reading plans and guiding them in reading. Changing
Higer buses into mobile libraries enables more students to access the ocean of
knowledge. Editor:
Ida.Zhang from Chinabuses.com
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