Ningxia Library

Ningxia Library

Ningxia Library is a large comprehensive research-oriented public library. It was established in October 1959, with its original location in the old city area of Yinchuan.

In 2008, a new building was completed at No. 8 East Renmin Square Street, Jinfeng District, Yinchuan, as one of the celebratory projects for the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

Ningxia Library has an extensive collection of resources. According to statistics from early 2004, the library houses a total of 1.6 million volumes (items) of various types of documents. The annual circulation of books exceeds 250,000 volumes. The library is open 365 days a year, receiving around 500 visitors daily and over a thousand on weekends.

The interior design of the new Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Library is structured in a “square within a square” layout. The overall building has a simple and square exterior, while the interior is designed to be open, elegant, and refined. Above the entrance is the Ningxia Library emblem and five gilded bronze characters reading “Ningxia Library,” inscribed by Guo Moruo in 1963, which are particularly eye-catching.

The new Ningxia Library covers an area of 36,257 square meters and was designed according to the requirements of being open, comprehensive, multifunctional, and intelligent. The library includes open-plan reading rooms that integrate borrowing, reading, and management functions, expert research reference rooms, reading rooms for seniors and teenagers, electronic reading rooms, multimedia audio-video areas, social education and training centers, multi-functional lecture halls, exhibition halls, a reader restaurant, a bookstore, leisure tea areas, as well as barrier-free facilities.

The book storage and borrowing spaces are adjacent, creating a reading atmosphere where “people are among books and books are among people.” Based on the needs of different reader groups, the main borrowing and storage areas are divided into extended function floors, browsing reader floors, reading reader floors, and research reader floors. Each floor has dedicated reading rooms, each serving a specific function. The reading rooms are similar to supermarkets on the street, allowing readers to freely select any books they like from the shelves.