A farmer in east China's Shandong Province has offered villagers free access to his collection of more than 13,000 books and other publications.

Yu Shaoying, 35, is a temporary worker at a power supply bureau in Zaozhuang City. He spends nearly every cent he saves on books, magazines and newspapers.

In spite of his meager wage of 350 yuan (US$42) per month, his collection now covers diverse subjects and takes up almost two thirds of his house. He has taken careful notes of every single book he reads, and written some 1,000 essays himself.

"Farmers here have little access to books," he told Xinhua in an interview, "They suffer losses sometimes because they know nothing about basic things like how to sign a contract when doing business with someone, or how to go to court to solve a dispute."

With China's membership of the World Trade Organization, farmers should familiarize themselves with rules and practices of the international market in order to compete with their foreign counterparts, said Yu.

"I've offered my own collection with the hope that more villagers will take up reading rather than gambling in their spare time," he said.

Yu has classified his books into several categories, including literature, science, culture and practical know-how and carefully labeled each copy.

He bought hundreds of new publications on the use of science and technology in agricultural production to help farmers increase their income.

Moved by Yu's efforts, the local personnel department has recently donated another 200 books on the WTO and Chinese agriculture to his library.

The villagers visit Yu's library whenever they have time. "All those who can read in the village have borrowed books from me," Yu said proudly.

Less gambling and quarreling are reported in Yu's village nowadays, as the educated stay home reading and the illiterate gather to listen to what the readers say is written in books.

"The library is now an indispensable part of the farmers' life," said Yu, "As a Chinese saying goes, only borrowed books can be read thoroughly, as once a book becomes your own, you may well leave it untouched."

(Xinhua News Agency April 5, 2002)