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A big question that keeps coming up nowadays here in China is just how technology has affected the reading habits of the Chinese. Do people here in the Middle Kingdom still prefer to read from traditional style books, or are most people reading through alternative formats? And furthermore, what kind of influence has new technology had on China's publishing industry? In order to get a more thorough understanding of reading in the Internet Age, a team of CRI reporters visited the largest library in Asia, and one of the largest in the world.

The National Library of China, otherwise known as the NLC, is conveniently located in northwestern Beijing. As part of the NLC's expansion, and in keeping up with the ever-changing pace of technology, the Digital Library of China opened to the public. It's a state-of-the-art building that sits right in the middle of the NLC grounds. This modern style building comes complete with computer rooms and a spacious peaceful study hall where one can read and research for hours on end without being disturbed.

Wang Zhigeng is the Director of the Department for Digital Resources and Services at the NLC. With the library's demographic in mind, Wang says, "The middle-aged and the senior readers prefer paper books, but young people born after 1980 are now accustomed to "reading on the screen," so people now have different choices according to their reading preference. For our library, what we can do is to provide all kinds of formats for different people."

So what kinds of people are taking advantage of the multi-faceted library? One person is Ma Zhiqing, a post-graduate student from North China Electric Power University. She likes reading both from traditional and electronic sources. She says, "The Internet can provide me with the latest information, but we can also only get certain information from traditional books."

The library and its many functions have evolved over the years to accommodate all walks of life. Sheng Yi, a Beijing native, has been coming to the NLC for years. He says he used to come to the library during the summer and winter holidays when he still studied in Hangzhou years ago, and the rooms of the library were very small, but now, he can read in such a modern building

The main attraction at the NLC is of course its new digital library. But what exactly is a "digital library" and what does it have to offer? Wang Yanrong is one of the many librarians who work at the newest building of the NLC. She says, "The library mainly provides four resources for readers, the digitized special editions online, multiple databases, multimedia references, and other special services such as a section for the blind."

Perhaps reading from an electronic source rather than from a paper book is a generational thing. It seems younger people actually do prefer to read from new media formats, and older folks tend to stick with what they grew up with. Cheng Yuzhang is a retired engineer from the Railway Ministry who likes to visit the library whenever he can. He says, "I prefer the traditional paper book because I am used to it after so many years, but I do hope that in the future I can read online, just like younger people."

Some of the most advanced reading formats nowadays have to do with reading content either from a cell phone or from gadgets such as the iPad and Kindle. How have the Chinese embraced alternative formats to quench their thirst for reading? Well, the Chinese know all too well that riding the subway can take up a lot of time, and therefore more people are slowly taking advantage of their time spent on the subways by using that time to read and even study.

A man on the subway said, "I usually read online, but in the subway, it is more convenient to get information by mobile phone, which provides us another way for reading."

Of course it isn't just reading that technology has altered over the past decade. It has also had a severe impact on publishing and how books are distributed.

Meng En'qing is in charge of exporting books at the library. He says, "In recent years, I have found that digital and electronic books have had a great impact on traditional paper books. The exporting of electronic books has seen a 3% to 5% yearly increase because they are more convenient and more direct compared to paper books which need a lot of packaging and other extra work. If we transport them to Singapore or Macau, we need almost two weeks, but it takes only seconds or minutes to sell e-books online. In my mind, the two kinds of books are complementary to each other. But I don't think the e-books will replace traditional books. In the future, they will coexist while the e-books will only get better."

At this rate it's anybody's guess as to what the future holds when it comes to reading and how books are consumed. The good news is that the more formats people have then more access they will have to books on any variety of subjects, and as that stays in place then not only will things get better, but they'll also get more exciting.

For China Radio International, I'm Lance Crayon reporting from Beijing.

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