Co-prosperity in Hsinchu County and Hsinchu City begins with reading. Hsinchu County and Hsinchu City have joined hands to meet the upcoming summer vacation. On July 6, Hsinchu County Magistrate Yang Wen-Ke and Hsinchu City Deputy Mayor Shen Hui-Hung met with children from the Hukou Kindergarten at the Hukou Township Library in Hsinchu County. The event kicked off with an exciting magic show performed by the Good Play Troupe, an outstanding local performance group in Hsinchu. The Hsinchu County and Hsinchu City Public Libraries Single Pass and Book Link Return Service was announced. Beginning July 7, readers can share the nearly 1.5 million collections in the 6 public libraries in Hsinchu City and the14 public libraries in Hsinchu County, thus opening a new chapter of Co-prosperity in Greater Hsinchu.
Hsinchu County Magistrate Yang Wen-Ke said that the employment, living, leisure and educational needs of the residents in Hsinchu County and Hsinchu City put them in the same living circle where they have frequent exchanges. The launch of the Single Pass and Book Link Return Service for public libraries in Hsinchu County and Hsinchu City has opened an opportunity for cooperation between the Hsinchu County and Hsinchu City public libraries across the north and south shores of the Touqian River. He said that this is the first step toward county and city government cooperation in the shared living circle of the Greater Hsinchu area. He described the Greater Hsinchu area as "I'm in you and you're in me". For the future of the people in the Greater Hsinchu area, he looks forward to more opportunities for cooperation.
Deputy Mayor of Hsinchu City Shen Hui-Hung said that reading is the soul of education. She encourages students to take advantage of the summer vacation to visit the library to cultivate reading habits. Hsinchu City Mayor Lin Chih-Chien and County Magistrate Yang Wen-Ke both hope to bring a sense of happiness to the residents of Hsinchu County and Hsinchu City, beginning with book loans. Hsinchu City has launched a library mobile app where readers can borrow a book from Library A and return it at Library B. Coupled with the Single Pass, borrowing and returning books have become more convenient for the public. He believes that future cooperation between the county and city will continue to improve.
The Cultural Affairs Bureau of Hsinchu County Government explained that with the launch of the single pass, those who already have a library card from Hsinchu City or Hsinchu County can activate the single pass service through the Internet. Those who hold a library card from either of the libraries can log in to the library's website to apply for activation. Readers can also go to a library counter to activate the service. They should bring their personal ID card or other supporting documents to the service counter of the Hsinchu County Library or Hsinchu City Library to apply for service activation. Those wishing to apply for a new library card will be handled according to the regulations of the respective library. Once the single pass service is activated, any future changes to a reader's personal information or library card status will also be simultaneously updated in the Hsinchu County Library and Hsinchu City Library.
Director of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Hsinchu County Government Tian Chao-Jung said that like Hsinchu County, Hsinchu City also won the Ministry of Education award in 2019 for excellent overall reading ability performance as a city. In the future, readers from the two county and city libraries will be able to activate their library card in any public library in Hsinchu County and Hsinchu City. They can also log in to their personal library in the public library automation system and activate the “The Hsinchu County and Hsinchu City Public Libraries Single Pass Service” to borrow or return books across the county and city. She also mentioned that Hsinchu County will also launch a library book borrowing APP system in the near future to improve reading rate and convenience in Hsinchu County and Hsinchu City.