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The virtual reading experience hall of the Jiaxing Library. [Photo/jiaxingren.com]

Jiaxing Library was recently shortlisted for the 2024 International Marketing Award by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) for its "Initiating Popular Science Reading with Metaverse" project.

This marks the second year in a row that the library's forward-thinking initiatives have received global acclaim.

The IFLA, a prestigious global authority in the field of library science, highlighted the Jiaxing project among 103 global entries for its creativity and human-centric design. The project was lauded for pushing the boundaries of traditional library services and fostering a love for learning in the digital era by integrating popular science into an immersive metaverse experience.

The library's metaverse project is the first of its kind in China's public libraries, creating a virtual reading experience hall that has drawn about 100,000 visitors. It was also honored as an exemplary smart library application by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in March 2024.

By employing metaverse technology, the library lets readers experience realistic environments like the cosmos and natural landscapes, transforming the reading experience into a three-dimensional, immersive journey.

Looking to the future, Jiaxing Library aims to deepen the fusion of reading and the metaverse, providing urban and rural readers with a diverse, intelligent, and immersive new reading environment, and ushering readers into a new era of reading in the digital age.