The world's first shared-book store established in Hefei

A branch of China's state-owned bookstore giant created, what it calls, the world's first shared-book store, in Anhui Province on Sunday, July 16, 2017, reports the Xinhua News Agency.

Anhui Xinhua Publishing and Distribution in Hefei, capital of Anhui Province, has set up the program to be part of the "shared economy" strategy.

A clerk guides a customer on how to borrow a book through a specially-developed app in Hefei, capital of Anhui Province, July 18, 2017. [Photo: Chinanews.com]

Local customers download an app and pay a 99-yuan deposit, much like one does in obtaining a library card.

A reader scans a bar code on the back of a book through a specially-developed app in Hefei, capital of Anhui Province, July 18, 2017. [Photo: Chinanews.com]

They can then scan a bar code on the back of each book, and take the books home to read for a period of 10 days, much like a library.

A reader shows the book she has borrowed from what it calls a "shared-book store" in Hefei, capital of Anhui province, July 18, 2017. [Photo: Chinanews.com]

Users can take out two books which have a value less than 150 yuan for free on a single loan.

Unless overdue, a person can borrow books as many times as they like, and the deposit is returnable at any time, exactly like a library.

Clerks in the store will serve as personal reading advisers for all customers, much like a librarian would.

Special "Reading Scholarships" are also being set by the shop to encourage reading, much like libraries do.

Readers wait to borrow books from what it calls a "shared-book store" in Hefei, capital of Anhui province, July 16, 2017. [Photo: Xinhua]

The move is being considered a new effort by the store to encourage reading.

However, many are still trying to figure out what the difference is between the so-called "shared-book store" and an ordinary library.