Libraries who have been chiefly responsible for making this possible. You will note the Librarian has tabled a short report on the Library: it is a very fine collection and I hope that interested members will make good use of it in its new location.
Before I leave the subject of journals and libraries, may I report to you that the Council has decided that it would be appropriate to bring out a 35th anniversary publication, which falls in 1995. No final decision has been taken on the contents of this publication, but it could take the form of the "Going and Gone" series, where there was a large photographic input: Dr. Elizabeth Sinn, one of our Vice-Presidents, is in charge of this project and I am sure she would welcome any ideas from members.
And finally, I come to the last of our activities, i.e., the watchdog role, and this can take many forms, either of a negative or a positive nature. We are still concerned about the charging of an entrance fee to several local museums, whereas they were free before, since this does discourage the local public from entering, if the latest figures are anything to go by. We continue to assist the Government Antiquities Advisory Board, in that three members of your Council are on this Board, and we provide nearly 20 members to assist in the grading of buildings. One Council member, Dr. Dan Waters, has been largely responsible for this, and again I would like to place on record our sincere thanks to him and his team. More recently, we have become very concerned at the proposed move of the more accessible part of the Government's Public Record Office. For those who do not know, this is at present on the second floor of the Murray Road Car Park and is in a very convenient location for those who wish to research Hong Kong history. It is a mine of information, and the Government's proposal to move it to an inaccessible and unsuitable industrial estate in Tuen Mun without any consultation does appear to be a very retrograde step in the light of its avowed objective to make government more open and transparent. We have written to our Patron on the matter, and although we have received a reply, the current position is not at all satisfactory, and we will be taking the matter further. I should add that we are not alone in our representations — all the heads of the tertiary institutions have also written, backed up by many academics. It is hoped that a more conciliatory outcome can be reported to you.
You will notice that I have left to last any reference to finance and membership. Our Treasurer, Mr. Robert Nield, will report to you on the state of our finances: briefly, he will report on a satisfactory position.
XI
Libraries who has been chiefly responsible for making this possible. You will note the Librarian has tabled a short report on the Library: it is a very fine collection and I hope that interested members will make good use of it in its new location.
Before I leave the subject of journals and libraries may I report to you that the Council has decided that it would be appropriate to bring out a 35th anniversary publication, which falls in 1995. No final decision has been taken on the contents of this publication but it could take the form of the Going and Gone series, where there was a large photographic input: Dr. Elizabeth Sinn, on of our Vice-Presidents, is in charge of this project and I am sure she would welcome any ideas from members.
And finally I come to the last of out activities i.e. the watchdog role and this can take many forms either of a negative or a positive nature. We are still concerned about the charging of an entrance fee to several local museums, whereas they were free before, since this does discourage the local public from entering, if the latest figures are anything to go by. We continue to assist the Government Antiquities Advisory Board in that three members of your Council are on this Board and we provide nearly 20 members to assist in the grading of buildings. One Council member, Dr. Dan Waters has been largely responsible for this and again I would like to place on record our sincere thanks to him and his team. More recently we have become very concerned at the proposed move of the more accessible part of the Government's Public Record office For those who do not know this is at present on the second floor of the Murrary Road Car Park and is in a very convenient location for those who wish to research Hong Kong history. It is a mine of information and the Government's proposal to move it to an inaccessible and unsuitable industrial estate in Tuen Mun without any consultation does appear to be a very retrograde step in the light of its avowed objective to make government more open and transparent. We have written to our Patron on the matter and although we have received a reply the current position is not at all satisfactory and we will be taking the matter further. I should add that we are not alone in our representations — all the heads of the tertiary institutions have also written backed up by many academics. It is hoped that a more conciliatory outcome can be reported to you.
You will notice that I have left to last any reference to finance and membership. Our Treasurer, Mr. Robert Nield, will report to you on the state of our finances: briefly, he will report on a satisfactory position.
XI
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.