HONG KONG 2005

The LCSD operates the Hong Kong Public Libraries system which comprises 74 public libraries, including 10 mobile libraries. It also manages the Books Registration Office. The public libraries system provides free library and information services to meet community needs for information, research and recreation and to support lifelong learning and continuous education. It promotes reading and literary arts and offers library extension activities to all ages.

The libraries have a comprehensive collection of 10.22 million books and 1.4 million multimedia materials and a total of 3.3 million registered borrowers. During the year, library services were well received and the number of library materials borrowed from the 74 public libraries amounted to 61 million.

Since its opening in May 2001, the Hong Kong Central Library has developed into a major information and cultural centre in Hong Kong. Occupying a gross floor area of 33 800 square metres with a total stock of 2 million items, the 12-storey building provides a wide range of facilities. Special features include a multimedia information system, a central reference library with six subject departments, an arts resource centre, Hong Kong literature room, map library, language learning centre, young adult Library and a toy library. There are also hiring facilities including a 1 500 square-metre exhibition gallery, a 293-seat lecture theatre, two activity rooms, a music practice room and a number of discussion rooms. On average, the Hong Kong Central Library is visited by about 14 000 users daily.

In addition to regular cultural activities and talks, the Hong Kong Central Library continued to organise a wide range of large-scale cultural activities such as the 'Successful Women in Hong Kong Tell Their Stories' series and the 'Cosmopolitan Hong Kong' seminar. Two territory-wide exhibitions, 'Eye on the World Map Exhibition' in collaboration with the Marco Polo Cartocell and 'Beijing In the Past — An Exhibition of the Old Pictures Collected by Capital Library of China', jointly with the Capital Library of Beijing, were held during the year.

The Hong Kong Public Libraries system makes every effort to enhance its service to the public by improving the library stock, the reference and information services, the use of information technology and the promotion of reading habits in the community.

Two new libraries were opened during the year. In April, a new district library at Ma On Shan was added to the public library network, significantly enhancing library services in Sha Tin district. In December, the Tai Kok Tsui Public Library, a small, sub-standard library was moved to new premises at the Tai Kok Tsui Complex, and an additional mobile library was also put into service.

The Education Resource Centre, a specialised reference library on education at the Kowloon Public Library, opened in late October. With an initial collection of 13 000 books, journals, electronic items and online databases, the centre aims to provide information materials on education and language learning and reference services for education professionals, researchers, and the general public who need to pursue continuing studies in education and related subjects. The Hong Kong Institute of Education provided professional advice on collection planning and development of the centre.

The Libraries@neighbourhood — the Community Libraries Partnership Scheme was launched in December 2005 to promote reading and lifelong learning in the community. Under the scheme, libraries can make suitable reading materials available to non-profit-making organisations' user groups through the block loan service. To achieve better results on the joint collaboration between the organisations and Hong Kong Public Libraries, libraries also offer them advice on stock management of books. By the end of the year, 472 schools and 77 organisations had joined the scheme.

The public libraries continued to promote and support lifelong learning in the community. In collaboration with the Education and Manpower Bureau, the 'Library Cards for all School Children' scheme was continued to encourage primary school students to use library services. Regular meetings were held with school librarians on the enhancement of library services to support the school reading programmes. In addition, public libraries continued to provide support services to the Project Yi Jin education programme and 16 public libraries stocked course materials of the Open University of Hong Kong, facilitating the pursuit of self-learning by many in the community.

The 'Artwork on Loan' scheme jointly launched with the Hong Kong Arts Development Council continues to prove its popularity among the public. The Arts Resources Centre of the Hong Kong Central Library will keep on working with the council to further expand the collection of works in the coming year.

Reference and information services are provided at the Central Library and the five major libraries — the City Hall, Kowloon, Sha Tin, Tsuen Wan and Tuen Mun Public Libraries. The Central Reference Library has a total collection of 910 000 items, providing reference and information services through its six subject departments. It features a comprehensive collection of electronic resources including databases, electronic books, electronic journals and multimedia programmes, all of which are available for online access by the public. The library also holds the permanent collection of books deposited under the Books Registration Ordinance and the depository collections of nine international organisations. Specialised reference services are also provided at the Arts Resources Centre, the Hong Kong Literature Room and the Map Library of the Central Library. During the year, a total of 5 million reference enquiries were handled by library staff. In addition, the City Hall Public Library offers specialised reference services through its Business and Industry Library, Creativity and Innovation Resource Centre and the Basic Law Library.

Web-based reference services form an integral part of the reference and information services. The Central Library operates an Internet Reference Enquiry Service in collaboration with the Sun Yat-Sen Library of Guangdong Province, Shenzhen Library, and Macao Central Library which enables readers to make enquiries directly to all three. A wide range of electronic resources, including online database, electronic books, web-resource guide and topical resources guides are posted on the library website for ready reference by users.

The Library Automation System of the public libraries is one of the world's largest computerised library systems with both Chinese and English capabilities. It provides 24-hour Internet library services for online catalogue searching and reservation and renewal of library materials. In 2005, 16.68 million items of library material were renewed through the Internet and Telephone Renewal Services. With the growing popularity of online public library services, the Hong Kong Public Libraries Homepage (www.hkpl.gov.hk) was ranked among the most popular websites in Hong Kong.

In 2005, the Hong Kong Public Libraries completed a major revamp on its homepage. The new-look homepage has a clear navigation flow and many reference information and online library services for Internet users. It contains up-to-date and useful information on library facilities and services and gives library users easier access to the most frequently used library services such as a library catalogue search, renewal and reservation of library materials, borrower record enquiry and online electronic resources.

Hong Kong Public Libraries continued to expand the application of information technology to provide more convenient and efficient services to the public. Following the launch of the new smart ID cards in 2003, residents of Hong Kong were allowed the option of using their smart ID cards as library cards to borrow, renew and reserve library materials. In 2005, the number of readers opting to use their smart ID cards continued to rise and by the end of the year, 178 computer terminals with Internet access had been installed with e-Cert compatible smart card readers for public use to promote wider use of information technology and electronic services.

Increasingly more patrons also opted for the new e-mail notification service. A pilot scheme to set up Internet Express Terminals in eight libraries was successfully implemented in 2005 and, to further promote self-service by end-users, an additional 58 self-charging terminals were also installed in branch libraries.

The Multimedia Information System (MMIS) developed for Hong Kong Central Library opened up new realms for information retrieval by offering the public instant access to a wide variety of digital documents as well as audio and video programmes on demand. Equipped with powerful and sophisticated search facilities, the system provides a one-stop search facility enabling users of all ages to explore the multimedia archives via the Internet at home or through some 600 workstations in the Central Library and the 26 branch libraries. Since its launch in 2001, the MMIS has been honoured with a number of awards both locally and internationally. In the Civil Service Outstanding Service Award Scheme 2005, the system won the Merit Award in the Innovation and Application of Technology category.

Outreach programmes form an integral part of library services and the libraries continue to organise a balanced mix of activities. Regular programmes like storytelling sessions, book displays and exhibitions, talks and seminars, group visits and community talks were organised throughout the year. In line with the digital library initiative, user education programmes on teaching the public to use the Online Public Access Catalogue, online and CD-ROM databases, MMIS and the Internet were also held regularly. During the year, a total of 18 540 library outreach programmes were organised.

A variety of reading programmes and reading-related activities were organised to promote reading and sustain reading habits and interest, including Summer Reading Month, which was aimed at children and families. During the month in the summer holidays, a large-scale exhibition on children stories 'A Journey to the Whimsy Kingdom' invited visitors to explore adventure tales, fantasy, science fiction and detective stories while a series of children's programmes included story-telling sessions, performances, competitions, film shows and interactive workshops.

Teens' Reading Clubs were held at 34 libraries during the year and a pilot scheme of Family Reading Clubs was introduced at major libraries. To tie in with the 4.23 World Book Day, the libraries organised a book report competition for students and also joined forces with the Hong Kong Publishing Federation and a number of other organisations in the Hong Kong Reading Month to promote reading across the territory.

A number of special programmes and competitions were held, aimed at promoting creative writing and appreciation and development of the literary arts. The Eighth Hong Kong Biennial Awards for Chinese Literature was organised in collaboration with the Hong Kong Arts Development Council to encourage Hong Kong writers' pursuit of excellence and persuade local publishers to publish good literature. Other major competitions included the Chinese Poetry Writing Competition and the Competition on Story Writing in Chinese for Students. The winning entries of these competitions were also published to give another boost to creative work.

The Book Donation and Sale Campaign was held again in February, recording a sale of 195 000 books and raising over $1 million for the Community Chest.

Efforts to strengthen cultural links and cooperation with public libraries outside Hong Kong continued over the year. Within the Greater Pearl River Delta Region, Hong Kong Public Libraries, Sun Yat-Sen Library of Guangdong Province, Shenzhen Library and Macao Central Library used hyperlinks to share library news and happenings. The year saw reciprocal library visits which helped the development of joint cataloguing and reference services. Hong Kong Public Libraries also joined forces with the University of Hong Kong Libraries to organise the Fifth Conference of Chinese Resources Cooperation and Development in Hong Kong which drew representatives from the largest public and academic libraries from the Mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao and other parts of the world.

The Books Registration Office helps preserve Hong Kong's literary heritage through the registration of local publications and monitors the use of the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) system. It publishes 'A Catalogue of Books Printed in Hong Kong' quarterly in the Government Gazette, which can be accessed through the Internet. In 2005, the office registered a total of 14 603 books and 14 163 periodicals, and 708 new publisher prefixes conforming to the ISBN.