The Non-Formal and Informal Education Commission is offering to transfer 46 of its libraries to interested local administrative organisations.
The offer is in line with a recent instruction from the Education Ministry's decentralisation committee.
Education Minister Chinnaworn Boonyakiat said yesterday the commission would need to talk to local administrative bodies to see if they wished to take over the libraries.
"If yes, the transfer can proceed. But if not, the office will have to improve the libraries in response to the Education Ministry's policy," Chinnaworn said.
The policy required library staff to "reach out" to people at community level and promote reading, he said.
The commission owns 851 libraries across the country. Some 46 are not being used for learning activities even though they are located in separate buildings. But some libraries are located in other agencies' buildings.
Some 456 schools have been transferred from the Office of the Basic Education Commission to local administrative organisations since the decentralisation of educational services took place in 2006.
Plans to transfer 21 more schools to local bodies were approved recently.