A new service that increases the availability of e-books at public libraries has led to a nearly 80 percent increase in borrowing in the first month since it was implemented, the Ministry of Culture said yesterday.
From last month, people are allowed to borrow 10 e-books from public libraries at a time, and the same e-book can be lent to an unlimited number of readers.
Prior to the new service, the number of times each public library could lend an e-book per month was limited and there was a limit on how many times the same e-book could be lent at once.
Photo courtesy of the Keelung City Government
The ministry allocated NT$100 million (US$3.1 million) for the first year of the new service, with 20 administrative regions participating.
Every time an e-book is borrowed, the publisher and author are paid a fixed amount, creating a positive cycle whereby reading and creating reinforce each other, it said.
The publishing industry has suffered greatly due to the digitalization trend, so “the government should do something” to preserve the cultural value of publishing, Minister of Culture Shih Che (史哲) said.
In the program’s first month, e-book borrowing increased more than 80 percent in Yilan, Nantou, Taitung, Penghu and Kinmen counties, as well as in Keelung and Chiayi City, the ministry said.
The five special municipalities in the program — excluding Taipei, which did not join — on average had a more than 50 percent rise in e-book borrowing, it said.
It is normal for activity to rise immediately after a policy is launched, but the data indicate that the market for digital reading has the potential to grow, Shih said.
The number of print books borrowed from public libraries nationwide last year was 94.17 million, compared with 9.33 million e-books, the ministry said.
E-book use and the output of digital publishing have the potential to grow substantially, it said.
The key to stimulating interest in reading lies in identifying readers’ needs, the ministry said, adding that publishers and e-book platforms have been striving to provide more diverse content since the new service was launched.
The Taiwan Cloud Library has an online book exhibition featuring fiction, Taipei-based multimedia publisher HyRead has an exhibition featuring detective novels and iRead eBooks has invited professionals to make book recommendations related to their expertise, the ministry said.
The novel Port of Lies (八尺門的辯護人), which was adapted for TV by Netflix, was the most borrowed e-book across platforms last month, it said.
In addition to expanding its e-book services, the ministry also launched a program to ensure that the procurement prices public libraries pay for books are at least 70 percent of the list price to prevent price-cutting in the sector, it said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS