China Deploys Artificial Intelligence Across Libraries to Promote Reading

China News Service reported that the official implementation of China's nationwide reading promotion regulation in early 2026 marked a systemic shift, encouraging technological development while prioritizing deep human reading. Over the past year, digital librarians, large models for ancient texts, and reading companion devices moved from conceptual demonstrations to public cultural infrastructure. At Beijing City Library, the digital librarian Tu Yueyue integrates large models to handle queries, navigation, recommendations, and reading guidance across physical and digital spaces, while automated guided vehicles and stackers coordinate with its multi-tier depository. Capital Library deputy director Xie Peng summarized this transformation direction as embodiment, describing an evolution from bibliographic retrieval toward knowledge delivery and from open-shelf browsing to augmented reality reading. Local institutions are also adopting dedicated systems, such as Fujian Provincial Library's maritime Silk Road artificial intelligence librarian and Hunan Library's ancient text restoration knowledge base that generates repair formulas based on damage conditions.