ENG-2015 — Page 393

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Recreation, Sport, Culture and the Arts

multiple online e-services, and an online credit card payment service allowing people to pay reservation fees or overdue fines of library materials through the internet.

The public libraries provide more than 1,900 computers giving public access to the libraries' electronic resources and the internet. More than 220,000 e-books are available to registered members for remote internet access.

Outreach Programmes and Promotion of Reading and Literary Arts

In 2015, the public libraries conducted 21,461 outreach programmes, including storytelling sessions, exhibitions, subject talks, reading programmes and reading-related activities, to promote and sustain interest in reading.

Promotional programmes for creative writing and Chinese literature included the 13th Hong Kong Biennial Awards for Chinese Literature.

Cultural Exchange

In 2015, library professionals from the Mainland, Taiwan and Macao attended the 9th Council Meeting of the Conference on Co-operative Development and Sharing of Chinese Resources and a library forum, 'Looking Back and Forth: the Opportunities in the Sharing of Chinese Digital Resources, in Hong Kong.

The libraries also collaborated with the Hong Kong Library Association and the Goethe Institut Hongkong to organise public lectures by visiting librarians from Germany and Australia.

Books Registration Office

The Books Registration Office registers local publications and monitors the use of the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) system. It publishes the Catalogue of Books Printed in Hong Kong in the Government Gazette every three months. The catalogue can also be viewed on the internet. In 2015, the office registered 15,400 books and 9,965 periodicals, and issued 991 new publisher prefixes totalling 17,200 ISBNs.

Heritage

Cantonese Opera

The government is keen to preserve, promote and develop Cantonese opera in Hong Kong. Opened in October 2014, the Ko Shan Theatre New Wing provides a 600-seat auditorium and ancillary facilities for performances, training and rehearsals. In 2015, more than 111,000 people attended about 280 performances at the auditorium.

The Academy for Performing Arts launched Hong Kong's first Cantonese opera degree course in the 2013-14 academic year. The Arts Development Council provides funding to support training programmes organised by the Cantonese Opera Academy of Hong Kong.

Intangible Cultural Heritage

According to the 2015 Policy Address, the government would enhance measures to safeguard Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), including the identification, documentation, research,

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