Senior citizens read books at a community-based day-care center in Hanshou county, Central China's Hunan province, July 20, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]

The central government will step up efforts to enrich the reading products and services for the elderly to provide them higher sense of happiness.

Fourteen central departments including the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Education and the All-China Federation of Trade Unions recently released a guideline that urges local authorities to offer more accessible and higher-quality reading services to the elderly.

Figures from the Ministry of Civil Affairs showed that the number of people in China aged 60 and above reached 296.97 million by the end of 2023, accounting for 21.1 percent of the nation's total population.

Among the people aged 60 and above, about 37 million have finished senior high school education, whose reading demands are not well met due to shortage of accessible reading products and services for seniors.

Under the guideline, publishing houses are encouraged to improve barrier-free services of copyrighted books to the elderly, such as audiobooks and books or newspapers printed with bigger characters.

The guideline requires local authorities to improve the reading environment for the elderly, with more accessible facilities and friendly services, allowing for seniors' reading habits. Local authorities are also required to offer scientific, systematic and personalized reading guidance to the elderly based on their ages, education background and health conditions, by using some AI tools.