The first “Kaohsiung Reading Festival” is themed "Library on the Left and Bookstore on the Right", leading Kaohsiung citizens to experience a new type of reading space. It has been 8 years since the Kaohsiung Public Library (KPL) opened. As time goes by, it assumes more responsibility in reading. This year, Kaohsiung Public Library II has successfully attracted investments. Hotelday started its trial operation in August. In the near future, Bleu & Book, a movie theater and a Michelin restaurant will also enter Kaohsiung Public Library II. The co-construction of the two reading venues will lead to a further intensification of the power of the dissemination of reading.

KPL hopes to maintain a library of the highest standard, taking both the local and international scenarios into account. In September, “Kaohsiung Reading Festival: Library on the Left and Bookstore on the Right” will use “Kaohsiung” as a book with “Kaohsiung City on the Go” as the core to greet Kaohsiung citizens. The event will utilize the “library” and “Kaohsiung Public Library II” as the front cover and back cover respectively. Bleu & Book has been invited to color the title page to design the reading event of “Library on the Left and Bookstore on the Right” to make our citizens’ new type of reading possible.

In the future, the left side of KPL will be a library and the right side a bookstore. In the new space, KPL will use “books” to connect nine local independent bookstores in Kaohsiung and collaborate with them to launch the special exhibition “The Bookstore Next to My Home”, and will hold seminars together in two main venues.

“KPL is an international landmark building that not only led the trend of building main libraries in all the counties and cities in Taiwan, but also responded to the world trend of more modernized reading services. In terms of organization restructuring, it has transformed from an agency to an administrative corporation, taking on the mission of moving towards an international library. Kaohsiung citizens' cultural lounge of reading in the city will be expanded. It will share Kaohsiung's memory with the public with its collection of millions of books, new technology information and diversified city book fairs to demonstrate the power of this culturally rich city,” says Kaohsiung City Mayor Chen Chih-mai.

The outreach services have always been an important feature of KPL. KPL has spread the fragrance of books to every corner of the 38 administrative districts, and the independent bookstores are strings to bind the public’s hearts. Nine independent bookstores curated together in KPL, just like pulling the public's mind back to a space where they can think. Kaohsiung citizens can also enjoy a feast to explore new knowledge, followed by nearly 100 reading salons. Through music, literature, images and food, their ears, eyes and tongues can savor the taste of reading simultaneously.

“The base of the book is our thoughts. The Cultural and Creative Industries Hall of KPL will be the first landmark in Taiwan which combines a library with five-star international cultural tourism hotels. At the same time, it is the first 5G AIoT field, the R & D test site of new digital applications, symbolizing the use of different IPs of different times in the new Asia New Bay Area. In the future, books will the core of the cultural tourism to create a wonderful reading experience for travelers in the city. We hope that the operators of businesses will incorporate Kaohsiung elements into the design and preservation process and make their entities part of the memory and precious collection of the times,” says Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Shih Che.

KPL has collaborated with nine independent bookstores for the first time, including TaKao Books, Little House Bookstore, MLD Reading, Tú-Hó Culture Store, Ki Tin Thak Chheh, City Bookstore, Everyman Bookstore, BookstoreAround, and Cradle Bookstore. Their appeals and business characteristics are different, so it is a rare opportunity for them be to get togrther in this space,” states Director Wen-Tsui Wang of the Bureau of Cultural Affairs.

The Cultural and Creative Industries Hall of KPL uses the theme of “Cultural Lounge of Reading in the City” with books as the core to expand the space for the exchange of humanistic thoughts. By doing so, this space can become a venue for cultural dialogue. Through “three-dimensional” books, authors and readers are allowed to communicate with each other, and a variety of cross-border issues and forms of cultural interaction are made possible. The two cultural carriers, the library and the bookstore, can also be brought to their fullest potential, enabling cultural knowledge and book intelligence to serve as the most beautiful embellishment in this harbor city.

"2022 Kaohsiung Reading Festival" is coming soon, and will collaborate with 9 independent bookstores.

"2022 Kaohsiung Reading Festival" is coming soon, and will collaborate with 9 independent bookstores.

"2022 Kaohsiung Reading Festival" is coming soon, and will collaborate with 9 independent bookstores.

"2022 Kaohsiung Reading Festival" is coming soon, and will collaborate with 9 independent bookstores.