since the start of the new century, public libraries in china have shown a healthy trend of development, featuring an ever-increasing scale, an initially established service system, a steady progress in infrastructure construction, improvement in networking, digitiza-tion and modernization levels, and strengthening of service efficacy. nevertheless, there are also serious problems, such as a weak foundation, insufficient funding, lagging legislation, and shortage of professionals. for the present and for a certain period to come, the focus of the building of public libraries should be placed on further seeking financial support, pro-moting the building of service systems covering both urban and rural areas, and improving services.