RAS-1979 — Page 26

THE LIBRARY OF THE HONG KONG BRANCH ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY

REPORT FOR THE YEAR 1978-1979

As as result of the removal of our library to the Hong Kong Arts Centre, it is good to record a spectacular increase in the use made of the collection. Although the increase in number of books borrowed is largely due to a few enthusiastic members, this is a notable improvement over previous years, and makes the expendi- ture in time, effort and money worthwhile. It is of course hoped that more members will take advantage of this facility, which is one of the benefits of membership.

We are glad also to note that our collection has grown at a higher rate than in previous years. 35 volumes were purchased, compared with 30 last year, and eight books were donated. We again express thanks to Messrs. C. Haffner, B. D. Johnson and B. Mellor for their kind donations. Even more important were gifts of back issues of periodicals, which helped to fill gaps in our sets. These included:

American Oriental Society. Journal, vols. 77-87, Journal of oriental studies, vols. 1-6 and five other titles from Lady Ride,

and

Siam Society. Journal, vols. 50-55, and

Siam Society. Natural history bulletin, vols. 20-25 from Mr. J.

H. Kinoshita.

These additions brought the size of the collection as at 31st December 1978 to:

Books*

558

Pamphlets

49

Bound periodicals 531 in

407

1,014

*including 38 in Chinese

During the year a second supplement to the printed catalogue of the library was distributed to members resident in Hong Kong.

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