Abstract: Since modern times, the social landscape has changed dramatically. This paper discusses the development characteristics of Jiangsu private collections of books in modern times and its social direction from the perspective of historical context by focusing on the modern Jiangsu bibliophile group. From the spatial dimension, the bibliophile groups in modern Jiangsu are mainly located in the south of the Yangtze River, especially in Suzhou. From the perspective of time sequence, the private collections of books went through the phases from prosperity to decline after the short-term prosperity in the early and middle period of modern times. The thoughts and characteristics of Jiangsu bibliophile group reflect the modern characteristics of “public use of private collection”, “equal emphasis on both collection and use” and “industrial and commercial industrialists have become a group of emerging bibliophile”. Based on the textual research and sorting out the main flow direction of private collections in Jiangsu, the visual Sankey diagrams are used to dynamically reveal the social flow direction of private collections of books in Jiangsu through the ways of “sale”, “donation” and “loss”. It shows that in the evolution of private and public collections in modern times, private collections have developed from the regional characteristics of long-term accumulation in Jiangsu, to the flow of their collections throughout the north and south of the country, and even spread abroad. The history of dispersing private collection into public collection, which gradually developed from a high degree of concentration to openness, can provide a reference for exploring the development of modern Chinese society and culture.