Sichuan libraries register big jump in readership

A growing number of people in Sichuan province are embracing reading, with the Sichuan Provincial Library's oldest registered reader aged 106 and the youngest just 2, according to a newly released reading report.

The annual reading report, issued on Monday by the provincial library in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, shows that Sichuan's 208 public libraries had over 7.89 million registered readers by the end of last year, up 12.4 percent year-on-year.

These libraries received nearly 37.9 million visits last year, an increase of 6.7 percent from the previous year.

According to the report, the provincial library alone gained 371,266 new registered readers last year, bringing its total to over 1.25 million.

The library's most active reader, a woman surnamed Xu, checked out 567 books last year. The oldest borrower, a 97-year-old man surnamed Duan, borrowed eight books, while a 2-year-old child surnamed Zhou took out 10.

Reading events in the province also saw remarkable growth last year. The provincial library hosted 2,155 online and offline events in 2025, a 147.7 percent rise from the previous year. The events drew over 23 million participants, a sharp increase of 283.3 percent from a year earlier.

By the end of 2025, Sichuan's public libraries had a total print collection of about 60.3 million volumes and 61.5 million e-books, with digital resources reaching about 21,400 terabytes, an increase of 4,285 terabytes from a year ago.