XN000022-1972-07-26 — Page 1

P.R.H. 7 (NEVISED) 400000!

EINGTONE DAILY GOVERNMENT INFORMATION SERVICES

INFORMATION BULLETIN

Wednesday, July 26, 1972

PUBLIC RECORDS OFFICE ESTABLISHED

A Public Records Office providing a centralised service in the

selection and preservation of permanently valuable public records will be

inaugurated in Hong Kong this week.

The office will be temporarily housed at No. 1A Garden Road in Central

until permanent accommodation is available at the new Murray Road Car Park

building now under construction.

Its main functions are to help government offices evaluate, select and

dispose of non-current records and to provide facilities for the safe custody

and maintenance of records.

Documents held at the office will be made available for official

reference and, under certain conditions, for private research.

The establishment of the Public Records Office of Hong Kong, follows

the appointment of an archivist last year.

A government spokesman said today that the development of archive facilities

was long overdue.

"A government's archives," he said, "are potentially one of the largest

and most important resources for documentary research in almost any field of study."

Initially, the Public Records Office will form part of the Colonial

Secretariat, but it may be necessary to set up a separate department later, with

its powers and functions defined by legislation.

The spokesman said that an early start would be made on the training of

staff and the development of archive services.

He said that the Public Records Office will be equipped with a reading room

and reference library for public use. He added that facilities will also be

provided for microfilming and document repair.

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