THE ARTS
277
Asia. Accessions occur almost weekly. Apart from being a depart- mental reference library, it is a useful source for research workers in matters concerning Hong Kong and is available for consultation by members of the public.
BRITISH COUNCIL
The British Council continues to play a major role in the cultural life of the Colony, and its staff and libraries are a source of information about Great Britain, its people and its institutions. The Reading Rooms of the two Centres, one on the Island and the other in Kowloon, contain a wide selection of British news- papers and periodicals, and are extremely popular and well used by students and adults of all nationalities. The Council's two Libraries now contain over 15,000 volumes and have a total membership of 6,000, the majority of whom are Chinese. More than 82,000 books were issued from the Council's libraries during the year. Films, photo-sets, colour slides, language and musical records and tapes were borrowed freely by schools and cultural organizations.
Two travelling exhibitions were displayed, the largest and most important of which was an exhibition of 'British Technical Achievement'. The United Kingdom Trade Commissioner and local representatives of British firms co-operated in setting up this exhibition which was opened by the Governor and attracted great public interest.
The Council held a full programme of lectures, film shows, discussions and rehearsed play-readings in its two Centres, and many outside organizations such as the Royal Asiatic Society, the Library Association, and the University Department of Extra- Mural Studies have used its premises. Two local artists held exhibi- tions of their work. Members of the staff played an active part in Radio Hong Kong, over which a regular weekly British Council programme was started in January. The Council supports local cultural societies, and again helped greatly in organizing the Festival of the Arts.
The British Council deals every year with hundreds of inquiries about higher education in British and other parts of the Common- wealth. Senior officers assist in the recommendation and selection