RECREATION, SPORTS AND THE ARTS
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The reference services were well used during the year. Library staff handled a total of 348 597 reference enquiries and 1.49 million items of reference materials were consulted in the libraries. The CD-ROM network provides concurrent access to the CD-ROM databases in City Hall Reference Library from the Kowloon Central Library, Arts Library and all district libraries. The reference libraries have built up more than 1 900 CD-ROMs, including many multi-media and full-text databases. On- line searches of local and overseas catalogues and commercial databases are available through the Internet. As a depository library for seven international organisations, the City Hall Reference Library receives full sets of publications from the United Nations, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, the World Trade Organisation, the World Food Programme and the International Labour Organisation.
Outreach programmes continued to form an integral part of the library services. To arouse interest in literary appreciation, awards were presented in the year for creative writing in Chinese, drama criticism in Chinese and the best-produced books in Hong Kong. A competition for students on story writing in Chinese was also organised and literary workshops were arranged to promote Chinese creative writing among students.
A major reference work on local literary writers, Bibliography of Hong Kong Literary Writers, by the council's first Writer-in-Residence, Mr Liu Yi-chang, was published in the year. A new Writer-in-Residence programme was launched in the year, commissioning Mr Ng Wan-man to carry out a research project on literary publications of the local literary societies and bodies in the '60s and '70s. Mr Ng's research will also be published for sale by the council.
A new reading programme was jointly organised this year with the Hong Kong Teacher Librarians' Association to further encourage students' participation and promote reading in schools. Activities such as thematic talks and meet-the-author sessions were organised for the members. Since the programme began in 1984, a total of 137 400 readers have registered with the programme and they have read more than 2.09 million books.
A Hong Kong Literary Festival on the theme of Hong Kong literature in the past 50 years was being planned for January 1997. It will include a large-scale exhibition, a seminar by local and overseas writers and scholars, meet-the-author sessions, workshops, competitions and performances, production of literary videos, film shows and seminars as well as publication of a collection of essays on Hong Kong literature. A wide range of other outreach programmes including books and arts exhibitions, interest clubs, subject talks, children's hours and library visits were organised. In all, some 3.42 million people took part in the council's literary and outreach programme in 1996.
Regional Council Public Libraries
The Regional Council operates 26 libraries, including three central libraries, 19 district libraries and four mobile libraries. Installed with one of the largest automated bilingual (Chinese and English) library systems in the world, these libraries provide fast book return, borrowing and reservation services and an online catalogue to members of the public.