Mobile Library Brings Reading Resources to Mountain Children in Lishan

Text / Chen Guanxin, MOOK Travel Life Network, compiled and reported

The third mobile library vehicle, launched by Taichung City’s Cultural Affairs Bureau, arrived yesterday (the 13th) at Lishan Elementary and Junior High School — the nation’s highest-altitude educational institution at 2,012 meters above sea level — providing over 200 students and teachers in remote areas with a variety of new reading resources. The moment the bookmobile opened, it resembled a bird spreading its wings. Its novel design drew cheers from the children on-site, who couldn’t wait to climb aboard and explore its treasures. Among them was Zhang Junjia, a third-grade student at Lishan Junior High who suffers from malignant neuroblastoma. He chose to read *Brave to Conquer the Universe: Episode One* and said his favorite genre is science fiction. He hopes the bureau’s mobile library will visit the Lishan area more often so that everyone can have regular access to good books.

Slightly chubby, Junjia has always been the top student in his class. He knows that studying is one way to escape poverty, so he is very hardworking — a trait that brings comfort to his mother, who came to Taiwan from mainland China. In the first year of junior high, Junjia was diagnosed with malignant neuroblastoma, which led to weakened immunity and the need for long-term, active treatment. To avoid infection, group living is not suitable for him. Due to family circumstances, Junjia is unable to obtain an official Taiwanese household registration and thus cannot receive medical assistance. Fortunately, the school helped him secure various subsidies and social resources. The head of the IT department set up a video network so he could consult his teachers from home, and his homeroom teacher, Lin Jiahong, often volunteers to tutor him at home. The diligent Junjia hopes to keep his studies uninterrupted, so after his condition stabilized slightly, he returned to school once again.

The Taichung City Cultural Affairs Bureau stated that two mobile library vehicles had previously been purchased — one operated by the Dadun Cultural Center serving 10 elementary schools in the urban area, and another by the Huludun Cultural Center serving 10 elementary schools in mountainous, coastal, and Tuntien districts. This latest mobile library vehicle, donated by the Yanjing Social Welfare Charity Foundation, is the third “bookmobile” in Taichung. The vehicle has been specially modified, featuring a gull-wing open-space design that can hold over 1,200 books. Its collection mainly consists of children's picture books, and it can also connect with libraries for borrowing and returning books. It serves as an effective tool to narrow the urban-rural gap, allowing children to discover a broader world and explore more cultural fields through the diverse and rich collection of books available on the mobile library.

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