Li Nianzu speaks at the “Spring Reading” event. Photo: Chen Tao/GT

The Global Times "Spring Reading" event was recently held at the Guangcheng Academy in Beijing as part of China's first National Reading Week. With literature as the medium and making friends through reading, the event has built a bridge for exchanging insights on reading among guests from diverse fields.

At a roundtable discussion, Li Nianzu, deputy director of the Capital Library of China, called on the public to engage in deep and immersive reading based on his working experience at the library, pointing out that slowing down and reading a book from cover to cover can yield meaningful insights.

Li noted that while working at the library, he has often been asked questions about reading - for example: What books are suitable for 3, 5, or 10-year-olds? These questions made him re-examine in-depth issues such as deep reading and lifelong reading.

"That is why our library launched a lifelong reading plan. After calculation, we found that an ordinary reader may read only about 1,000 books in a lifetime. Around this number, we put together a carefully curated must-read list for lifelong reading," said Li.

He added that the library's staff planned a special exhibition on lifelong reading, featuring 1,000 classics, such as the collected works of Lu Xun and the four classics of Chinese literature, including Journey to the West. Many people may have heard of these books, but most of them have not finished reading them, he said.

In order to provide a better experience for readers who enter the library, the Capital Library has made a preliminary exploration of the smart library. For instance, robots can assist readers in finding books. Just tell the robot the name of the book readers want to borrow: it will lead readers to the corresponding bookshelf and inform them which row the book is on, Li mentioned in a speech at a library development conference.

"We do not wish for everyone to stay long in the library; we only hope you are willing to step into the library and open a new chapter in your lifelong reading journey," said Li at the "Spring Reading" event.