purpose: as an important issue, strategic planning in public libraries has been paid more attention in china recent years. however, a comprehensive and systematic research, especially strategic models based on empirical studies, is required in the public library strategic planning. the purpose of this research is to investigate the current practices and propose an appropriate reference and guidance of strategic planning in public libraries in mainland china.

design/methodology/approach: a questionnaire-based survey method is carried out to collect the views of public libraries staff at different levels in mainland china. the questionnaire is designed on the following four aspects toward strategic planning in public libraries: the attitude, the status quo, basic issues and the guides. the 882 valid questionnaires are processed by a statistic analysis to reflect the current practices of strategic planning in public libraries in mainland china.

findings: our research results reveal that the unclear and confused understanding of the strategic planning still exist among the public libraries staff in mainland china. however, the majority of respondents still believe that the strategic planning in public libraries is significant and the library developments will be affected for lacking strategic planning. moreover, it is considerable that the strategic plans are jointly made by independent agencies and public libraries, or by the public library itself. also, guidelines and a set of softwares in strategic planning are needed.

research limitations/implications: the study was restricted to six main areas in china. a wider geographic sampling can preferable show the basic status of strategic planning in public libraries. the procedures of data collection would be another limitation. nevertheless, case studies should be used in the further research.

originality/value: the importance of this research originates from a large number of first-hand data about strategic planning in public libraries in mainland china. the results provide extra perception into the future development of chinese public libraries. the understanding obtained from this study will play a part in forthcoming evolution of this area of research.