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Students who enjoyed reading recommended their favourite books. A senior primary school student introduced vividly the characters in "Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator" to show his enjoyment of the book. Another young reader described amusing signs from the book "The World's Dumbest Signs".
They were two of the more than 100 participants in the "Reading Programme for Children and Youth", including winners of the "Book Report - Star of the Month" who had read between 1,000 and more than 3,000 books in the past year. Library volunteers also received their gold awards today (September 18) in recognition of their reading efforts and services to the Hong Kong Public Libraries (HKPL).
Launched by the HKPL in 1984, the "Reading Programme for Children and Youth" aims to stimulate the interest of children and youth in reading, widen their scope of reading and knowledge, and enhance their ability in language usage. The programme was re-launched for membership application in 2003 and there are currently over 130,000 members.
The certificate presentation ceremony was held at the Lecture Theatre of Hong Kong Central Library.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Assistant Director (Libraries and Development) of Leisure and Cultural Services, Mr Lee Yuk-man, said that over 70 public libraries provided abundant and diverse materials and services for the public to use for free.
He called upon students to make good use of these convenient and valuable resources and to inspire friends and schoolmates to enjoy the fun of reading together.
The "Reading Programme for Children and Youth" has been well-received in the community. Children aged from 4 to 19 can join the programme individually or through their school. Children aged between 4 and 9 are encouraged to join the family category so they can read with their parents.
Fifty participants aged from 4 to 12, who had read between 1,000 and more than 3,000 books in the past year, received "Outstanding Award" certificates. In addition, 42 participants were awarded "Book Report - Star of the Month" for their outstanding creative book reports.
The five actively participating schools in the reading programme were Aberdeen St. Peter's Catholic Primary School, Hong Kong Baptist Convention Primary School, Hong Kong and Macau Lutheran Church Primary School, SKH Yan Laap Primary School and SKH Lee Shiu Keung Primary School.
To encourage more people to engage in voluntary service, the HKPL launched the Voluntary Helpers Scheme in 1981, recruiting volunteers aged 16 and above with Form 4 standard or above to support the library services. The voluntary services also aim to enable the volunteers to learn more about the library so as to make better use of library services. Eight library volunteers, who had contributed service of no less than 100 hours in the past year, were presented with gold certificates.
People who are interested in the reading programme for children and youth and volunteering at the library can contact any HKPL in their vicinity for details.
Ends/Saturday, September 18, 2010
Issued at HKT 14:50
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