THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 1977
PRINCESS ALEXANDRA TO OPEN LIBRARY AT HK POLYTECHNIC
*****
HRH PRINCESS ALEXANDRA WILL UNVEIL A PLAQUE TO OFFICIALLY OPEN ONE OF THE LARGEST SCIENTIFIC, TECHNOLOGICAL AND BUSINESS LIBRARIES IN THE COMMONWEALTH DURING HER VISIT TO HONG KONG NEXT MONTH.
IT IS THE LIBRARY AT THE HONG KONG POLYTECHNIC IN HUNG HOM, WHICH WILL EVENTUALLY HOLD MORE THAN 400,000 VOLUMES WITH SEATS FOR 3,000 READERS,
FOLLOWING THE OPENING CEREMONY, HER ROYAL HIGHNESS WILL VISIT THE LIBRARY AND MEET MEMBERS OF THE TEACHING STAFF AND STUDENTS.
AT A TOTAL BUILDING COST OF $90 MILLION, THE LIBRARY TOGETHER WITH A MULTI-PURPOSE TEACHING BLOCK AND PODIUM WAS COMPLETED LAST OCTOBER AS PHASE OF THE POLYTECHNIC'S EXPANSION PROGRAMME.
OF THE 45,000 SQUARE METRES OF FLOOR SPACE MADE AVAILABLE UNDER THE EXPANSION PROGRAMME, THE LIBRARY OCCUPIES SOME 15,000 SQUARE METRES. IT IS HOUSED IN A FULLY AIR-CONDITIONED FIVE-STOREY BUILDING, THREE STOREYS ABOVE AND TWO BELOW THE PODIUM LEVEL, THE MULTI-PURPOSE BLOCK HAS A TOTAL AREA OF 22,100 SQUARE METRES AND THE PODIUM OCCUPIES 7,400 SQUARE METRES.
J
UNDER THE PODIUM THERE ARE 23 LABORATORIES, A THREE-LEVEL CARPARK AND A PLANT ROOM. ABOVE THE PODIUM ARE FIVE WINGS OF MULTI-PURPOSE SPACE WHICH PROVIDE 90 CLASSROOMS AND TUTORIAL ROOMS, FOUR LECTURE THEATRES, 30 LABORATORIES, AND OFFICE SPACE FOR ACADEMIC AND ADMINSTRATIVE STAFF.
THE HONG KONG POLYTECHNIC WAS FORMALLY ESTABLISHED IN AUGUST, 1972. IN FIVE YEARS, TEACHING DEPARTMENTS HAVE DOUBLED FROM 8 TO 16 WHILE THE NUMBER OF FULL-TIME PLACES HAS INCREASED FROM 1,700 TO 5,000.
FURTHER SIGNIFICANT GROWTH IS THE NUMBER OF PART-TIME DAY RELEASE STUDENTS, WHICH HAS INCREASED FROM ABOUT 740 TO OVER 2,200 AND OF PART-TIME EVENING STUDENTS, FROM ABOUT 9,300 TO 13,400.
BY 1980, IT IS EXPECTED, TOTAL ENROLMENT WILL REACH MORE THAN 30,000, COMPRISING SOME 7,600 FULL TIME STUDENTS, 3,300 PART-TIME DAY RELEASE STUDENTS AND 21,600 EVENING STUDENTS,
13