Abstract: Since the 21st century, the public libraries in China have shown an unprecedented trend of prosperity due to the continuous innovation of systems, concepts, technologies and services. Those innovations that changed the progress of Chinese public libraries in the 21st century include one-card-through library system, national cultural information resources sharing project, city of library, national reading activity, self-service library, free public library service, library+, construction of public library service system, Public Cultural Service Guarantee Law of the People’s Republic of China, and Public Library Law of the People’s Republic of China. They have formed the “China Model” and “China Road” of the development of public libraries in the 21st century, which is a good reference for all countries in the world.

Key words: Public library, Library development, Innovations, China Model