The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (May 21) that in view of a notification from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) about an outbreak of highly pat… read more
Following is a question by the Hon Chan Chun-ying and a reply by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law, in the Legislative Council today (May 21):
Question:
It is learnt that due to the prevalence of digitisation and changes in the reading habits of members of the public, the number of visits to public libraries and the number of materials on loan have both dropped significantly in recent years, and quite a number of overseas libraries have gradually transformed themselves from conventional institutions for collecting and lending books into diversified spaces functioning as community centres with intelligent services. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the following information about public libraries for the past two years: (i) the numbers of circulations of physical books, e-books and multimedia items and their year-on-year rates of change, (ii) the expenditure on purchasing such items and its percentage in the overall library expenditure, (iii) the number of visits, (iv) the number of newly registered users, and (v) the number of readers borrowing physical materials;
(2) whether it has reviewed the functions and services of public libraries to ensure that the allocation of resources can meet the needs of the community; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) whether it has drawn on the library models of other cities to push forward the modernisation and transformation of Hong Kong’s public libraries in terms of innovative design, application of intelligent technology, community services and so on, as well as to expand their functions and services; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
My consolidated reply to various parts of the question raised by the Hon Chan Chun-ying is as follows:
Under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), there are 71 static libraries, 12 mobile libraries and 3 self-service library stations that offer round-the-clock services, providing free and comprehensive library services for the public.
In the past 2 years, the number of visits to the libraries increased from 21.49 million in 2023 to 23.83 million in 2024. The number of loans of physical books increased from 28.75 million items to 28.97 million items, while that of multimedia materials increased slightly from 616 000 items to 617 000 items. On the other hand, as more people visited the libraries and borrowed physical books, the number of loans of e-books decreased from 2.56 million items to 2.32 million items. In 2023 and 2024, the number of newly registered readers was 43 000 and 38 000 respectively, while the number of readers who borrowed physical materials was 620 000 and 600 000 respectively.
The expenditure on the acquisition of library materials maintained at about $100 million in the financial years of 2023-24 and 2024-25, accounting for about 7 per cent of the overall expenditure of the libraries in the respective financial years.
Libraries in different regions have been facing the challenge of declining patronage due to the availability of more free information online. To facilitate the sustainable development of the libraries, the LCSD has implemented the strategic plan of libraries from 2020 to 2025 to enhance existing facilities and library networks; raise public awareness of the physical collection and electronic resources; launch large-scale reading promotion activities to promote reading interests and expand readership; and enhance library services through the application of information technology. The libraries also conduct opinion surveys through annual Reader Liaison Group gatherings to better understand the reading habits and needs of readers.
At present, the LCSD enhances its library services on various aspects, including planning, library collections, services and application of technology, etc. When planning new library facilities, the LCSD will make reference to the experience of Mainland and overseas libraries, with a view to making a library into a community gathering place. The demographics and needs of different communities will be taken into account when planning the functions, design, services and facilities of libraries to ensure that library services will meet the needs of residents of different age groups in the community. Taking Sham Shui Po Public Library commissioned in 2023 as an example, considering the greater number of young families in the district, a parent-child reading corner and a game wall are specifically provided in its children’s library where the facilities are tailor-made for paired reading by young readers and families. A leisure reading area is also set up in the adult library to provide a comfortable reading environment for patrons, and a create • info zone equipped with more multimedia digital service facilities is provided for the youth. Besides, the library also caters for the needs of the elderly in the district by providing desktop video magnifiers in the newspapers and periodicals section to bring convenience to them when reading newspapers and magazines.
On library collections, the LCSD keeps gathering and analysing usage data of its library collections, including both physical and e-books, for understanding changes in reading habits and demands of readers as well as introducing new library materials that meet the needs of the public. With the ever-increasing popularity of e-reading, the libraries continue to enhance its acquisition of e-books, bringing an increase of over 60 per cent in the e-book collection from 330 000 items in 2019 to about 540 000 items currently. The usage of e-books also rose sharply from 960 000 in 2019 to 2.32 million in 2024.
Apart from the provision of book lending services in libraries, the LCSD libraries also offer outreaching services from time to time, such as block loan of library materials in the community to assist individual community organisations and housing estates with such demand in establishing community libraries for providing book services to their members or residents. Currently, 197 community libraries have been set up across the territory, including two located inside the Community Living Rooms in Sham Shui Po.
In addition, the libraries launch large-scale territory-wide reading activities and hold other activities such as book exhibitions, talks, workshops and pop-up libraries during major events organised by the LCSD to promote library collections and e-reading, with a view to extending the reach to readers.
Like public libraries in other advanced cities, the LCSD strives to enhance library services through the application of new technology, and is developing a new Smart Library System. As an integrated library system, the new system supports the daily operation of all public libraries, including collection management, borrowing and return of library materials and online electronic resources, etc, thereby providing greater convenience to the public in using library services. Thank you, President. read more
The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Housing Authority:
Flat selection for the Sale of Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) Flats 2024 (HOS 2024) of the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) will commence from May 29.
“The HA will invite eligible applicants in batches to select flats for sale under HOS 2024 via mail or email according to the priority under the respective application category at the designated time at the Housing Authority Customer Service Centre (HACSC) in Lok Fu,” a spokesman for the HA said today (May 21).
Flats for sale
Flats for sale under HOS 2024 include:
| (i) | a total of 7 132 flats from five new developments in Kai Tak, Yau Tong, Kwun Tong, Tuen Mun and Tung Chung (see Annex 1); |
| (ii) | about 300 rescinded flats sold under HOS 2020, HOS 2022 and HOS 2023; and |
| (iii) | a new batch of about 400 recovered Tenants Purchase Scheme (TPS) flats. |
The Education Bureau (EDB) announced today (May 21) the arrangements for the change in result reporting systems of Category C Other Languages (OL) subjects with effect from the 2025 Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination. The results attaining specific examination grades/language proficiency levels of the OL subjects will continue to be accepted as meeting the entry requirements of relevant civil service grades.
According to the new arrangements for Category C OL subjects (French, German, Japanese, Korean and Spanish) announced by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) in 2022 for the 2025 HKDSE Examination and onwards, candidates should take the stipulated language examinations administered by the respective official organisations in Hong Kong. Their results obtained at the stipulated examination grades/language proficiency levels or above will be included in the HKDSE Examination Category C results and reported on the HKDSE certificates. For details, please refer to the HKEAA website (www.hkeaa.edu.hk/en/HKDSE/assessment/subject_information/category_c_subjects/).
In response to the change in the result reporting systems of the OL subjects, the Civil Service Bureau (CSB) accepts, from the 2025 HKDSE Examination results release day (i.e. July 16) onwards, the specific examination grades/language proficiency levels attained in the OL examinations (Note) as meeting the requirements of “Level 2/Level 3 in one of the five subjects in the HKDSE Examination” for civil service non-degree grade appointment purpose. Regarding the OL results obtained in the 2024 HKDSE Examination or before, the existing acceptance arrangement will remain unchanged. For information about the recruitment of civil service jobs, please visit the CSB website (www.csb.gov.hk/english/recruit/7.html).
An EDB spokesman said the Government has long been offering the OL subjects as elective subjects at the senior secondary level to enable students to fully develop their potential and nurture a new generation with global vision and multilingual abilities, thereby further strengthening Hong Kong’s distinctive advantage of having strong support from the motherland and maintaining close connections to the world.
Note:
Specific examination grades/language proficiency levels of HKDSE Category C OL subjects refer to:
– A2 or above (i.e. A2, B1, B2, C1 & C2 (highest)) in French/German/Spanish;
– N3 or above (i.e. N3, N2 & N1 (highest)) in Japanese; and
– TOPIK II Grade 3 or above (i.e. TOPIK II Grade 3, 4, 5 & 6 (highest)) in Korean. read more
The Transport Department (TD) today (May 21) said that the next online auction of vehicle registration marks (VRMs) will be held from noon on June 5 (Thursday) to noon on June 9 (Monday) through the auction platform E-Auction (e-auction.td.gov.hk). Interested bidders can participate in the online auction only after they have successfully registered as E-Auction users.
A spokesman for the TD said, “A total of 150 Ordinary VRMs will be available at this online public auction. The list of VRMs (see Annex) has been uploaded to the E-Auction website. Applicants who have paid a $1,000 deposit to reserve the Ordinary VRM for auction should also register as an E-Auction user in advance in order to participate in the online bidding, including placing the first bid at the opening price of $1,000. Otherwise, the VRMs reserved by them may be bid on by other interested bidders at or above the opening price. Auctions for VRMs with HK or ‘XX’ as a prefix, special VRMs and personalised VRMs will continue to be carried out through physical auctions by bidding paddles, and their announcement arrangements remain unchanged.”
Members of the public participating in the online bidding should take note of the following important points:
(1) Bidders should register in advance as an E-Auction user by “iAM Smart+” equipped with the digital signing function; or by using a valid digital certificate and an email address upon completion of identity verification. Registered “iAM Smart” users should provide their Hong Kong identity card number, while non-Hong Kong residents who are not “iAM Smart” users should provide the number of their passport or other identification documents when registering as E-Auction users.
(2) Bidders are required to provide a digital signature to confirm the submission and amount of the bid by using “iAM Smart+” or a valid digital certificate at the time of the first bid of each online bidding session (including setting automatic bids before the auction begins) to comply with the requirements of the Electronic Transactions Ordinance.
(3) If a bid is made in respect of a VRM within the last 10 minutes before the end of the auction, the auction end time for that particular VRM will be automatically extended by another 10 minutes, up to a maximum of 24 hours.
(4) Successful bidders must follow the instructions in the notification email issued by the TD to log in to the E-Auction within 48 hours from the issuance of email and complete the follow-up procedures, including: