NOTES ON HONG KONG LIBRARIES
61
current, such as the Friend of China and North China Herald. The connections of the Hong Kong trading community with Australia, India and Southeast Asia, as well as with Great Britain, are represented, though there is an absence of American publications.
On May 8th of this same year, 1867, the China Mail carried an editorial on “Our Libraries", which makes it clear that some of the other European communities in Hong Kong were equally well provided with library facilities. The German and Portuguese clubs are mentioned as having active libraries. The article goes on to remark upon the little use which is made of the Morrison Library, not because of restrictions imposed by those in charge of it, but on account of its out-of-the-way situation
the same criticism which had been made of the Victoria Library in 1852, and was later made of the University of Hong Kong Library in 1961. On the Victoria Library, after praising the exertions of a few in prolonging its existence, the China Mail continues that it is "by no means so well supported as it deserves to be." The reason, it is suggested, is that the club-libraries had to a great extent filled the place it occupied fifteen or more years before, and as the funds available for book purchases decreased with the declining membership year by year the Victoria Library had become “but an inferior copy of its more thriving brother at the English club." The China Mail continues by suggesting that it would be profitable for both institutions if the Morrison and Victoria Libraries were brought under one roof, and whilst preserving their separate identities allowing subscribers of the latter to use the former (and presumably vice versa). As will be seen later, this suggestion by the China Mail met with a more favourable response than the earlier proposal, to convert the Victoria Library into a book club. The editorial concludes with the suggestion that the combined institutes might invite the deposit of free copies of "books, papers and pamphlets upon China, Japan, the Eastern archipelago or any portion of the world tenanted by the Chinese race", in return for which a catalogue raisonné of these publications would be issued every three or six months, and distributed free to subscribers as a kind of advertisement. "If the same principle were extended to general literature, it would be found that a very large number of European publishers and the consignees of books in China would gladly send 'review copies'. The question of expense would be solved by adopting this plan entirely in place of purchasing new works, the sum now paid
NOTES ON HONG KONG LIBRARIES
61
current, such as the Friend of China and North China Herald. The connections of the Hong Kong trading community with Australia, India and Southeast Asia, as well as with Great Britain, are re- presented, though there is an absence of American publications.
On May 8th of this same year, 1867, the China Mail carried an editorial on “Our Libraries", which makes it clear that some of the other European communities in Hong Kong were equally well provided with library facilities. The German and Portuguese clubs are mentioned as having active libraries. The article goes on to remark upon the little use which is made of the Morrison Library, not because of restrictions imposed by those in charge of it, but on account of its out of the way situation
the same criticism which had been made of the Victoria Library in 1852, and was later made of the University of Hong Kong Library in 1961. On the Victoria Library, after praising the exertions of a few in prolonging its existence, the China Mail continues that it is "by no means so well supported as it deserves to be." The reason, it is suggested, is that the club-libraries had to a great extent filled the place it occupied fifteen or more years before, and as the funds available for book purchases decreased with the declining member- ship year by year the Victoria Library had become “but an inferior copy of its more thriving brother at the English club." The China Mail continues by suggesting that it would be profitable for both institutions if the Morrison and Victoria Libraries were brought under one roof, and whilst preserving their separate identities al- lowing subscribers of the latter to use the former (and presumably vice versa). As will be seen later, this suggestion by the China Mail met with a more favourable response than the earlier proposal, to convert the Victoria Library into a book club. The editorial con- cludes with the suggestion that the combined institutes might invite the deposit of free copies of "books, papers and pamphlets upon China, Japan, the Eastern archipelago or any portion of the world tenanted by the Chinese race", in return for which a catalogue raisonné of these publications would be issued every three or six months, and distributed free to subscribers as a kind of advertise- ment. "If the same principle were extended to general literature, it would be found that a very large number of European publishers and the consignees of books in China would gladly send 'review copies'. The question of expense would be solved by adopting this plan entirely in place of purchasing new works, the sum now paid
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