The Shenzhen Library will create a reading room for children as the old Shenzhen Library is being rebuilt into a children's library, yesterday's Daily Sunshine reported.

The Shenzhen Library is for adults, said Wang Dake, vice curator of the library. The number of books for children is very limited in the Shenzhen Library, so Wang suggested that children under 14 years old go to the children's library.

"We are studying the preliminary plan to set up a reading section for children on the first floor of the library," Wang said. "The plan will be implemented after getting approval from relevant department for the convenience of those parents who bring their children with them to the library." However, Wang pointed out that the reading room for children will be very small as the library mainly targets adult readers.

The old Shenzhen Library building is currently being rebuilt into a children's library. During the refurbishment, the eastern area will be open to children, the Daily Sunshine report said.

Upon completion, the 13,000-square-meter children's library will be the biggest of its kind in Asia with the largest collection of books. The original size of the children's section was only 1,000 square meters.

On complaints from readers that the books in the Shenzhen Library are not as "appealing" as the ones in bookstores, Wang explained that as a public library, the Shenzhen Library has to "cater to the needs of the readers as well as the needs of the development of the city and society." "There are a lot of technical indexes for us to follow when purchasing books," Wang said.

Wang suggested that parents take their children to the children's library after it is completed as the desks, chairs and lighting facilities there are all specially designed for children.

Editor: Yan