[Family Travel]A Library That Never Sleeps

New Taipei City Public Library: New Main Branch Address: No. 139, Guixing Rd., Banqiao District, New Taipei City (GPS Coordinates: N25°00’06.3” E121°27’19.9”)
New Taipei City Public Library New Main Branch Phone: 02-29537868
Opening Hours: The first and fourth floors are open 24 hours; other floors are open from 08:30 to 21:00 (closed on Mondays). Transportation: A five-minute walk from Yadong Hospital MRT StationNew Taipei City Public Library New Main Branch Map: The hottest attraction in New Taipei City this May is the new main library. In just seven days of trial operation, it welcomed 85,000 visitors—the place was almost as bustling as a vegetable market. The biggest highlight of the new main branch is that two floors are open 24 hours, along with a children’s picture book area beloved by kids, a non-stop manga section, and high-floor views of lush greenery outside, making it a five-star library. Come explore the New Taipei City Library New Main Branch through the photos by baby Wen (bobowin).

The new main branch of the New Taipei City Library, with three underground levels and ten above-ground floors, boasts a futuristic exterior that catches everyone’s eye from afar. It’s about a five-minute walk from Yadong Hospital MRT Station. The three basement levels are parking. Right across from the new main branch is A.Mart, so it’s convenient to grab a bite after reading. There are bike racks and the popular UBIKE service in front of the new main branch, allowing you to cycle over directly from Yadong Hospital MRT Station or Fuzhong Station.

The ultra-modern entrance features a 24-hour book reservation and pick-up service. If a book is too large to fit in the automated retrieval machine, you can also collect it at the first-floor counter—truly an excellent service.

Floor-by-floor opening hours at the New Taipei City Library main branch: The first floor allows 24-hour book borrowing and returning, and the fourth-floor manga area is open 24 hours. Starting now, the maximum capacity inside the library is set at 3,500 people. Once exceeded, entry will be restricted—this is the first library in the country to implement crowd control.

The first floor has a light snack area where you can enjoy coffee and reading in the library. There are also regularly changing exhibitions on the first floor.

Every floor is equipped with book disinfection machines and touchscreen kiosks for information inquiries.

The children’s reading and storytelling area is located on the third floor of the main branch, which also includes a parent-child co-reading zone, nursing rooms, and other facilities. The children’s reading room is the most popular area in the library—when baby Wen visited on Saturday, it was extremely crowded.

The third floor also offers video DVDs for rent. There are special chairs for children to sit in, as seen with how happy Manfu Bao looks.

Two kids in the parent-child co-reading area, listening to Mom Fu tell a story.

The super cute toast-shaped book search machine

Climb up to the fourth floor and look down at the parent-child co-reading area on the third floor.

When reading gets tiring, there’s an outdoor grassy terrace for fresh air. The fourth floor features a whole section dedicated to manga, as well as open study rooms. Outdoors, there are sunny huts providing an outdoor reading environment. Baby Wen’s favorite One Piece figurines are displayed in a complete set in the fourth-floor exhibition area.

Mayday Ashin’s brand Stayreal has also set up a presence here.

A huge study area provides students with an ideal environment for learning. The fifth floor is the audiovisual floor, where you can rent DVDs and use multiple multi-function audiovisual rooms and study rooms—perfect for group discussions. However, baby Wen noticed many people occupying these spaces just to read, even when they weren’t in groups. Since these areas are designated as study rooms or multi-function classrooms, they should be reserved for those who truly need them.

The fifth floor also has a reading space designed in a minimalist Mediterranean style—it’s one of the most popular areas in the library and is always occupied, so baby Wen didn’t take any photos there. There’s also a large blackboard for kids to draw on.

If you need to make a phone call in the library, please use the phone booths—there are no public phones available. Escalators connect the first to fifth floors in open public areas. Floors six and above require using stairwells or elevators. Since the library has just opened, the upper floors are quieter, with less foot traffic. Once you reach the sixth floor, it feels like you’ve entered a completely different world from the noisy, market-like atmosphere downstairs—this is the tranquility a library should have. Taiwan’s civic awareness really needs to improve alongside the hardware environment; otherwise, even the best facilities will be wasted.

The sixth floor houses literature and art books, as well as reading corners designed in British classical, southern French countryside, and [text garbled] styles. It also covers fields such as applied science, social science, religion, geography, and includes quiet reading corners. There are cozy reading nooks by the windows with city views. The sixth floor also features extensive resources on philosophy, ethics, religious studies, natural sciences, publishing, design, art history, and more. The sixth floor is unexpectedly well-designed and full of character. It’s a pity that there aren’t more visitors. The materials here—whether reference resources, international culture, regional studies, or meeting rooms—are all top-notch, but seem underappreciated.

Spend the morning in quiet reading, then take the kids in the afternoon to Banqiao 435 Art & Culture District to play in the sand and run around.
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