PUBLIC LIBRARY
635
In the article on the City Hall (17.6.33) reference was made to the commencement of the public library housed therein, which had its nucleus in 1869. The books remaining from the library are now housed temporarily at the old Seamen's Institute, pending possible opening of a library building at some future date. It may have occurred to readers that a community of progressive merchants and officials, and their families, such as opened up the Colony in its early years, would naturally not go long without a library of a kind; and in delving into the records one finds that this was the case. A privately-organised library was established in Hongkong as far back as 1848.
A small library with attached reading rooms was run by this organisation for some years, and really formed the basis on which the City Hall library was subsequently established. In 1871, probably in view of the coming into being of the public library, the original institution, retaining its more or less private character, was organised into a club, which was known as the Victoria Club. The association of this name with the present Victoria Recreation Club suggests a natural transition at a later date.