ENG-2008 — Page 467

Recreation, Sport and the Arts | 391

and share library news and matters of mutual interest. An exhibition, 'Memories of the Past: Joint Exhibition of Old Photos' displaying life in Hong Kong, Macao, Shenzhen and Guangdong in the last century was held as part of a cultural exchange between the Hong Kong Central Library, the Sun Yat-sen Library of Guangdong Province, Shenzhen Library and Macao Central Library. The HKPL and the Shenzhen Library also held creative writing competitions to celebrate the '4.23 World Book Day'. Shenzhen's winning works were displayed alongside Hong Kong's winning entries during these events.

Books Registration Office

The Books Registration Office helps preserve Hong Kong's literary heritage by registering local publications and monitoring the use of the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) System. It publishes 'A Catalogue of Books Printed in Hong Kong' in the Government Gazette on a quarterly basis and this may also be accessed through the Internet. In 2008, the office registered 12 969 books, and 14 033 periodicals, and 827 new publisher prefixes.

Sport and Recreation

Hong Kong people are increasingly taking up sport and using public recreational facilities. The LCSD develops and manages these facilities, which include sports grounds, playgrounds, sports centres, holiday camps, water sports centres, swimming pools and beaches. It also organises training courses, sporting competitions and other activities for people of all ages and abilities, and encourages passive recreation by providing parks and landscaped open spaces for people to enjoy.

In addition, the LCSD administers subventions provided to 25 camps and sea activity centres run by 12 non-governmental organisations. Some 731 100 people participated in activities organised by these camps and sea activity centres during the

year.

The LCSD is also the authority responsible for issuing and renewing licences for places of amusement. During the year, the LCSD processed 73 applications for billiard establishments, nine for public bowling alleys and seven for skating rinks.

Hong Kong Sports Institute Limited

The Hong Kong Sports Institute Limited was established on October 1, 2004 to provide an environment in which sports talent can be identified, nurtured and developed. Other than sports facilities, the support given to athletes includes elite coaching and training, sports science, sports medicine, education, applied research and sports information. During the year, eleven sports were covered by the Elite Training Programme badminton, cycling, fencing, rowing, squash, swimming, table tennis, tenpin bowling, triathlon, windsurfing and wushu.

The institute also supports outstanding athletes in other sports under the Individual Athletes Support Scheme and the Disabled Sports Elite Training Programme. During the year, its activities focused on the preparation of athletes for