ENG-2003 — Page 491

RECREATION, SPORT AND THE ARTS

Discussion Rooms. On average, the Hong Kong Central Library is visited by about 16 000 users daily.

In addition to regular cultural activities and subject talks, a wide range of notable events was organised region-wide during the year. The 'Distinguished Contemporary Chinese Scientists Seminar', which was a joint programme with the China Association for Science and Technology and the Beijing-Hong Kong Academic Exchange Centre, was held in October, attracting an audience of over 800 and many others on the Internet through live webcasting. The Exhibition on Heinrich Boll: Life and Work, featuring photographs, manuscripts, awards and newspaper clippings concerning the winner of the 1972 Nobel Prize for Literature was jointly presented with the Cologne Public Library in Germany.

The Exhibition on a Tribute to Heritage: Discovering Hong Kong's Culture and Tradition, which was co-organised by the Hong Kong Museum of History and the Antiquities and Monuments Office, showcased over 100 cultural pieces. The Music Encounter: Exhibition of Ng Tai-kong's Works presented a collection of the works of this renowned music master, donated by his descendants. To promote public awareness and research in local history, the Exhibition on Treasure of Literature was organised with a display of over 280 pieces of historical documents selected from the 70 000 items collected by the library through the Documents Collection Campaign. The Exhibition on Guqin Culture highlighted the development of qin music and its culture, and displayed 20 rare examples of qin instruments.

New Initiatives in Library Services

The Hong Kong Public Libraries system has made dedicated efforts to improve service to the public through enrichment of library stock and reference and information services, use of information technology, promotion of reading habits in the community as well as enhancement of the accessibility of public library services. With the expansion of the library stock and of the number of patrons, a total of 58.62 million items of library materials were borrowed from the public libraries, an increase of 10.04 per cent on 2002.

The public libraries continued to promote and support lifelong learning in the community. The 'Library Cards for all School Children' Scheme was continued in collaboration with the Education and Manpower Bureau to encourage primary school students to use library services. Regular meetings were held with school librarians on the provision of library services to support the school curriculum. Moreover, public libraries continued to provide supporting services to the Project Yi Jin education programme and 15 public libraries stocked course materials of the Open University of Hong Kong, facilitating the pursuit of self-learning by many in the community. Plans were also under way to set up an Education Resource Centre at the Kowloon Public Library.

In January, two new libraries were opened: a full-scale district library in Fanling and a small library in Fu Shan. Plans were in hand to open two more new libraries in Tung Chung and Ma On Shan and a new mobile library, as well as to reprovision the existing Tai Po Public Library in leased premises to the new Tai Po Complex in 2004. An 'Artwork on Loan' Scheme was launched jointly with the Hong Kong Arts Development Council which allowed each reader to borrow two pieces of artwork and institutions to borrow a maximum of five pieces of artwork for a loan period of 30 days from the Arts Resources Centre of the Hong Kong Central Library.

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