Taichung City Library Shalu Shenshe Branch Introduction
In 1986, the "Shalu Township Library" was established on the fourth floor of the Shalu Township Office. At that time, it had a collection of 12,922 books. To provide a more convenient reading space, then township mayor Chen Ming-Di hoped to collaborate with local resources to build a larger library in response to the government policy of "every township should have a library." Partnering with the local "Wei-Dan Enterprises," the township office provided 4,797 square meters of public land, while Wei-Dan Enterprises invested in construction funds. The Education Department of Taiwan Province and Taichung County Government subsidized the installation of equipment. Construction by Wei-Dan Enterprises began in 1988 and was completed by the end of 1989. The library was officially opened for operation on February 20, 1990, with public borrowing starting on July 14 of the same year. To honor the company’s contributions to the community, the library was named "Shalu Township Shenbo Library" after Mr. Yang Shenbo, the founder of Wei-Dan Enterprises. On December 25, 2010, with the merger of Taichung County and City, it was reassigned to the Cultural Bureau of Taichung City Government, and its name changed to "Taichung City Shalu District Shenbo Library." On March 1, 2016, it was reorganized and became the "Taichung City Library Shalu Shenbo Branch." The Shalu Shenbo Branch is located next to the Shalu Administrative Center and is near various schools such as Shalu Junior High School, Shalu Elementary School, Beishi Junior High School, Shalu Senior Vocational School, Zhulin Elementary School, Providence University, and Hungkuang University, serving a wide audience. In 2003, the Shalu Shenbo Branch was the first in the country to promote the "Bookstart" early reading initiative, introduced from the UK, followed by parent-child reading sessions the next year, allowing reading to accompany family growth. Moreover, the Shalu Shenbo Branch is one of the leading "movie-themed" specialty libraries in the country, with a collection including thousands of film books, audiovisual materials, periodicals, exhibition catalogs, and movie posters. It is equipped with complete film screening facilities, regularly screening films from around the world and hosting thematic film exhibitions, creating a distinct cinematic atmosphere in this public library.
