As of April 1, the 31-year-old Guangzhou Library, which is located at the Zhongshan Si Lu (中山四路), will close its public service. The Zhongshan Library and the new library which opened this year in Zhujiang New Town will replace the old library.

According to the announcement, the old Guangzhou Library will begin to serve as a Children's Library by the end of June. Library cards issued at the old library will become unusable after September 1.

After the Guangzhou Library moves, Liu Honghui, curator of The Zhongshan Library which is situated nearby, is worried about the sudden influx of readers. He said, the number of average readers at the moment is about 6,000 per day. After April, the number will increase to about 8,000 to 10,000 a day. Every year the Zhongshan Library has about RMB 40 million for purchasing new books. Liu Honghui said he is not worried about the book supply but the space and workload. We will build up more chairs in the corridor. The second phase of the library is planned to complete by the end of next year.

The new Guangzhou Library offers book loans with just your identity card. It also has a number of specially-designed facilities to assist the disabled.