Abstract
Since 2021, the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Hongkongers in the UK under the British National (Overseas) Visa Scheme has created a significant demand for Traditional Chinese books and reading materials. Conventional community libraries have struggled to meet these diasporic information needs, largely due to geographic dispersion. This article examines the Hong Kong Books Borrowing and Sharing Centre (HK BookShare), a decentralized, community-led library system operating on sharing economy principles. By January 2025, the platform had amassed over 1600 titles, serving users across 86 cities and towns. Drawing on interviews with the founder and users, digital walkthroughs, and descriptive statistics, this study explores how digital technologies and HK BookShare's operational model address diasporic information needs while challenging traditional library frameworks. The findings highlight HK BookShare's effectiveness in providing broad access, user-friendly services, and a diverse collection but also reveal key challenges related to volunteerism, social trust, and algorithmic design. This article argues that physical libraries and sharing economy models can be mutually reinforcing, rather than opposing, in meeting the diverse information needs of new immigrants. By contributing to the discourse on migrant information needs, community-managed libraries, and digital platforms, this study offers both academic insight and practical implications for future initiatives.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Journal of Librarianship and Information Science |
| Early online date | 24 Apr 2025 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 24 Apr 2025 |
Bibliographical note
Impact: This study examines the Hong Kong BookShare, a decentralized, community-led library developed by Hong Kong migrants in the UK, and offers new insight into how diasporic communities innovate to preserve cultural identity and access knowledge. In light of increasing transnational migration and the limitations of traditional library infrastructures, this research demonstrates how sharing economy models can expand bibliodiversity and serve dispersed, underrepresented groups. With over 1,600 books circulating across 86 UK cities and towns, the platform addresses real-world service gaps by enabling low-cost, peer-to-peer book lending outside institutional constraints.Through interviews, platform analysis, and participatory research, the study reveals the importance of social trust, volunteer sustainability, and the interplay of digital and physical spaces in grassroots library innovation. The findings inform broader debates on community-managed libraries, digital equity, and the evolving role of libraries in a postdigital age. Practically, this work offers actionable insights for cultural organizations, public libraries, and policymakers seeking to support migrant communities through inclusive, resilient information infrastructures.
Keywords
- Communication, cultural and media studies