Newsletter(Chief Correspondent Huang Liping (1973-), table tennis player, several times world and Olympic winner  Liu Min (Report)

On April 28, to enrich the content offerings of rural libraries, the National Press and Publication Administration issued a notice regarding the release of the “2020 Recommended Catalog of Key Publications for Rural Libraries.” The notice requires local authorities to ensure the replenishment and updating of publications in rural libraries for 2020 and distributed the recommended catalog to the press and publication bureaus of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and made arrangements regarding the strengthening of the provision of publications to rural libraries.

On April 28, to enrich the content offerings of rural libraries, the National Press and Publication Administration issued a notice regarding the release of the “2020 Recommended Catalog of Key Publications for Rural Libraries.” The notice requires local authorities to ensure the replenishment and updating of publications in rural libraries for 2020 and distributed the recommended catalog to the press and publication bureaus of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and made arrangements regarding the strengthening of the provision of publications to rural libraries.

Thecenter"The Red Star of the Country" is currently (as of(2019) is the earliest known biographical history of the Chinese Communist Party written in the biographical-chronicle style, and it is also the first publicly published collection of biographies of early CCP leaders and revolutionaries to date. The book is divided into two parts: Part One, “Red Stars of the Past,” contains brief biographies of 31 early CPC revolutionary martyrs who had either been killed in action or had passed away by that time; Part Two, “Red Stars of the Present,” features brief biographies of 19 CPC leaders and Red Army commanders who were fighting on the front lines of the War of Resistance Against Japan at that time.

The publication of *The Red Star of China* was linked to the American journalist Edgar·The Chinese translation of Snow’s renowned work *Red Star Over China*, titled *Random Notes on a Journey West*, was published and distributed in Shanghai’s “isolated island” during the War of Resistance against Japan at roughly the same time. As the years have passed, the book has become nearly impossible to find in most major libraries; *The Red Star of China* is rich in content reflecting the ideals, convictions, and moral integrity of the older generation of revolutionaries. It serves as the “best nourishment” for Party members and officials in carrying out the “Stay True to Our Original Aspiration and Keep Our Mission Firmly in Mind” educational campaign, tempering their Party spirit, and strengthening their spiritual resolve; Since its reprint, *The Red Stars of China* has caused a sensation in academic and collecting circles. Many experts and scholars have praised the book highly after reading it, noting that the answer to the question of what the “original aspiration” is becomes clear as day when one examines the deeds of the “Red Stars” described within. Only by remaining true to our original aspiration can we persevere to the end. The book sold out shortly after its release last January and has since gone through three printings of the first edition to meet readers’ strong demand to learn about the heroic revolutionary deeds of the “Red Stars.”

A "Farmers' Library" is a public cultural facility established in administrative villages to meet the cultural needs of farmers. It houses a certain number of books, periodicals, electronic and audiovisual materials, and provides the necessary facilities for reading and playback. These libraries are independently managed and operated by farmers on a self-service basis. Each Farmers' Library is established in accordance withBuilt to a standard of 20,000 yuan, the library must have a collection of at least 1,500 books, at least 1,200 different titles, at least 20 different periodicals, and at least 100 electronic and audiovisual items.

Rural Reading Room ProjectPilot program launched in 2005, and fully rolled out in 2007. Under the sound leadership of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, with strong support from relevant departments such as the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and the Ministry of Finance, and through the full-scale promotion by Party committees and governments at all local levels, by 2012, a total of 600,449 rural libraries had been established, covering all administrative villages nationwide that met the basic requirements. As of the end of 2012, central and local governments had collectively invested more than 12 billion yuan, of which 5.856 billion yuan came from the central government and 6.168 billion yuan from local governments. Nationwide, a total of 940 million books, 540 million copies of newspapers and periodicals, and 120 million audio-visual and electronic publications were distributed. The per capita book ownership among farmers reached 1.13 books. During the replenishment and renewal phase of the Farmers“ Reading Rooms project, the government allocated supplementary funds at a standard of 2,000 yuan per reading room, and local reading rooms added no fewer than 60 new book titles annually. Each year, 600 million yuan from the central government’s special fund for local rural cultural development is allocated for the replenishment and renewal of Farmers” Reading Rooms. The Rural Reading Rooms have initially addressed the difficulties faced by 800 million farmers in accessing books and newspapers, promoted the equalization of basic public cultural services between urban and rural areas, and enriched the spiritual and cultural lives of farmers. They have been vividly described by farmers as “schools for farmers’ prosperity, temples of rural culture, and second classrooms for rural students.”

The Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China proposed“In response to the major initiative of ”Building a Modern Public Cultural Service System,” we will focus on promoting the standardization and equitable distribution of rural libraries, continuously improve the mechanism for replenishing and updating their collections, strengthen management and services, effectively meet the cultural needs of the rural population, and cultivate more “new farmers” who use knowledge to change their destinies, build their hometowns, and realize their dreams. The Rural Reading Rooms project has now entered the phase of replenishing and updating its collections. The task of encouraging the broad masses of farmers to visit the reading rooms and develop reading habits has become even more challenging, and the project still faces a long and arduous journey ahead.

According to reports, the National Press and Publication Administration“Applications for the ”Recommended Reading List for Rural Community Libraries” project are accepted each November, and the selected titles are announced at the beginning of the following year. Eligible publications must adhere to the correct ideological orientation, strengthen rural revitalization, support the fight against poverty, promote the prosperity and flourishing of rural culture, and be outstanding works that are grounded in reality, relevant to daily life, and close to the people.