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The new Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Public Library, the second largest public library in Hong Kong, will open on Thursday (February 28). Located at Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Leisure and Cultural Building, 1 Tsui Sing Road, Tin Shui Wai, it is the first public library where the public can read in an outdoor courtyard.
The open space of the atrium and courtyards across floors, as well as the surrounding curtain wall, admit sunlight to the whole building. Indoors or outdoors, readers can enjoy reading in natural light.
Covering a floor area of 6 100 square metres, the new eight-storey library is situated in Yuen Long District, which has a rich heritage and many famous antiquities and monuments. The newly built Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Leisure and Cultural Building consists of two blocks with the higher block being the public library.
The design of the building has won several architecture awards. Inspired by the traditional architectural elements of Ping Shan in Yuen Long District, the architects made use of older building materials like bricks, fair-faced concrete, wooden screens, iron netting and rusty iron to cultivate an air of simplicity and nurture a style of tradition fusing with modernity. The highs and lows of the building outlook are echoed by the crisscrossing staircases inside the library, which is bathed in sunlight via the open space of the atrium, courtyards across floors and the surrounding curtain wall to foster a comfortable environment for leisure reading.
The flower beds on various floors and the green roof not only enhance the atmosphere of the building, but also provide a natural and relaxing environment for readers, who can take their books to read at the coffee corner or in an outdoor courtyard. In addition, they can participate in special extension activities such as guided reading programmes held by the library on the green roof.
The library provides diverse services and facilities. After Hong Kong Central Library, Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Public Library is the second public library to provide a young adult library dedicated to teen readers from the ages of 12 to 17. The new library also has a colourful children's library, an adult library, a spacious multimedia library, a reference library and a computer and information centre. There is also a user education hall, an exhibition hall, a students' study room with 228 seats, a newspaper and periodical section, a fiction area, an extension activities room, a coffee corner and a health corner.
Convenient facilities such as a self-service book borrowing and renewal service, an express check-in service, Internet express terminals and Government Wi-Fi services are also available.
The library has an initial stock of about 270 000 Chinese and English books and over 15 000 audio materials and CD-ROMs for home borrowing, as well as about 30 000 reference materials including Hong Kong and district collections, general reference books, dictionaries and directories. More than 9 000 audio-visual materials are available at the Multimedia Library and the Newspapers and Periodicals Section, which subscribes to over 400 local and overseas newspapers and periodicals for people of all ages and interests. In addition, the Health Corner provides leaflets and pamphlets with health information.
To promote reading among the public, the library will organise extension activities, such as storytelling for children, reading programmes for children and youth, subject talks, user education programmes and book displays, on a regular basis.
Students and members of cultural and educational organisations interested in learning more about the library's facilities and services are welcome to contact the library for group visits.
A series of exhibitions and talks will be held at Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Public Library starting from March. They include the "Across 50 years of the HKPL" exhibition; programmes for ethnic minorities, such as the "Ethnic Minorities of South Asia in Hong Kong – Indian, Nepalese & Pakistan" exhibition, storytelling for South Asian children and a library fun day for ethnic minority groups; and a thematic storytelling workshop for children entitled "Little Black Raven Loves Adventure". Activities related to daily life include the information technology (IT) workshops "Enjoy Easy Life @ Internet", "IT and You" and "Protection of Personal Data Privacy - Talk Series on the Proper Use of Technology in Daily Life", and a talk entitled "A Healthy Life with Chinese Medicine". There is also a "Meet-the-Authors 2013" talk and a Library Student Ambassador Volunteer Programme for secondary schools in Yuen Long District.
Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Public Library will open from 9am to 8pm from Mondays to Wednesdays and from Fridays to Saturdays, from noon to 8pm on Thursdays, and from 9am to 5pm on Sundays and public holidays. For enquiries, please call 2126 7520.
As the new Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Public Library will open on February 28, the Tin Shui Wai Public Library, currently located at 101-102, 1/F, Kingswood Ginza, Phase 2, 18 Tin Yan Road, Tin Shui Wai, will be closed on the same day. Thereafter, Yuen Long District will have three public libraries: the new Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Public Library, Yuen Long Public Library and Tin Shui Wai North Public Library.
To enhance the public library service and promote reading, the loan quota for library materials for each registered reader will be increased from six to eight from March 1. The lending of back-issue periodicals will be increased from 12 to 16 and the quota for advanced reservation of library materials will also be increased from six to eight.
Ends/Monday, February 25, 2013
Issued at HKT 17:07
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