ENG-2011 — Page 476

408 Recreation, Sport and the Arts

museum objects including paintings, prints, historical documents, textiles, metals, ceramics, organics and archaeological finds.

Some 550 students and interested persons participated in the specifically- organised 'behind-the-scene' laboratory tours and workshops in the year, while some 50 conservation volunteers contributed 2 200 service hours to the section's conservation and extension programmes.

In collaboration with the Airport Authority, the section staged two new exhibitions entitled 'Discovering Hong Kong's Cultural Traditions' and 'Bits of Old Hong Kong' at the Hong Kong International Airport, depicting Hong Kong's traditional festivals and the evolution of Hong Kong's lifestyle.

The section also presented a paper entitled 'Value Fallacy: Preservation of Street Graffiti' at an international seminar organised by International Centre for the Study for the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) and contributed a paper entitled 'Museum Object Conservation Documentation System in Hong Kong' to the 16th International Council of Museum Conservation Committee (ICOM-CC) Triennial Conference during the year.

Museum Trainee Scheme

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A 'Museum Trainee Scheme' was launched in late 2010 to nurture museum professionals. Ten graduates from local and overseas universities in disciplines such as Fine Arts, History of Arts, Communication Studies, Conservation, Cultural Management and Architectural Studies were recruited to be trained for two years. The trainees are attached to the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong Museum of History, Hong Kong Heritage Museum, Hong Kong Film Archive, Art Promotion Office and Central Conservation Section. They are taught how to manage museum services, organise exhibitions and education programmes.

Public Libraries

The LCSD operates a network of Hong Kong public libraries (HKPL) comprising 67 static and 10 mobile libraries. It also runs a books registration office.

Hong Kong's public libraries hold some 11 million books and over one and a half million items of multimedia material. They serve close to four million registered book borrowers to whom the libraries lent more than 59 million books and other library materials in 2011.

Hong Kong Central Library

The Hong Kong Central Library (HKCL) is a major information and cultural centre, housed in a 12-storey building with a total floor area of 33 800 square metres. It has a stock of over 2.4 million books and other reading materials and provides a full range of library and multimedia facilities, a central reference library with six subject departments, an arts resource centre, a Hong Kong literature room, a map library, a language learning centre, a young adult library and a toy library.