ENG-1961 — Page 366

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THE ARTS

workers in matters concerning Hong Kong and is available to members of the public.

BRITISH COUNCIL

The British Council continues to make a lively and varied contribution to the cultural life of Hong Kong. With its assistance, the Royal Ballet was able to perform here for the first time. Negotiations were in train for the visit of the London Philharmonic Orchestra early in 1962, with Sir Malcolm Sargent as Conductor. The Council assists local cultural bodies such as the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, the Music Society, the Stage Club, the Library Association, and many other organizations which meet on its premises and are able to make use of its materials and services. In addition to its own displays, which have included such diverse subjects as Blind Welfare in Britain, Poster and Book Jacket Designs, and the paintings of J. M. W. Turner, the Council mounted exhibitions of the works of three local artists. Exhibitions were also lent to the University, the Post-Secondary Colleges, and the teacher training colleges.

Assistance and information of all kinds was given to Radio Hong Kong, and members of the Council's staff have broadcast frequently. A regular weekly programme entitled-Speaking Generally' was produced for most of the year.

The libraries and reading rooms of the British Council, both in Kowloon and Hong Kong, have continued to be extremely popular with all sections of the community. The two libraries now contain 16,500 volumes and have a total membership of 6,000, the majority of whom are Chinese. More than 85,000 books were issued from the libraries during the year. The wide selection of British newspapers and periodicals available in the Council's air-conditioned reading rooms were read by thousands of students and adults of all nationalities. A varied programme of lectures and film shows was provided throughout the 1960-1 season, those dealing with the Commonwealth and Dominion countries being especially popular. The Council's stock of audio-visual material, films, slides, photosets, music and speech records and tapes, was loaned to schools, training colleges, the University, and many organizations and societies.