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Following is a question by Dr Hon Priscilla Leung and a written reply by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Tsang Tak-sing, in the Legislative Council today (February 25):
Question:
Currently, Hong Kong Public Libraries provide book drops at three major interchange railway stations, namely Central, Kowloon Tong and Nam Cheong Stations. Regarding the provision of book drops at railway stations, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of loaned materials returned through the aforesaid book drops at the three interchange stations since April 2013;
(2) whether it has reviewed the effectiveness of providing book drops at interchange stations; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) whether it has considered relocating the existing book drops at the interchange stations to other locations inside the stations where passengers must walk past, and providing book drops at other railway stations with higher passenger flows for the convenience of library service users; if it has, of the details and the estimated costs; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) has provided book drop service under a trial scheme at three Mass Transit Railway (MTR) interchange stations, namely Central, Kowloon Tong and Nam Cheong since late September 2011, and completed a review on the trial service in early 2013. The reply to various parts of the question is as follows:
(1) From April 2013 to January 2015, the number of library materials returned through the book drops at the Central, Kowloon Tong and Nam Cheong MTR stations were 299 744, 350 843 and 136 664 respectively.
(2) In the review of the trial scheme completed in 2013, the LCSD examined the usage statistics and the public's views collected through an opinion survey. The review findings show that during the period from the launch date of the book drop service to late December 2012, the monthly average usage of the book drop service at the three stations was only about 29 per cent of the total maximum capacity (25 250 items as compared to 86 400 items). Both the usage statistics and the opinion survey findings reveal that only a small portion of library patrons chose to return their borrowed library items through the book drops at the MTR stations. Indeed, the majority of patrons still preferred visiting the libraries in person to return and borrow books on the same occasion. Whilst the trial book drop service was generally supported by the public as reflected in the opinion survey, the cost of providing the service was high due to the expenses for the logistics services (say for collecting and transporting library items among the MTR stations, the central processing centre and public libraries twice a day). The average cost of the service was around $9 per returned item and the additional expenditure incurred was around $3.5 million per annum. Despite the increase in service usage in 2013 and 2014, the monthly average usage remained to be only 38 per cent and 41 per cent respectively. In light of the cost-effectiveness of the service and patrons' habit of using the library service, we consider it appropriate to maintain the existing service at the three MTR interchange stations and have no plan to extend the service to more MTR stations at this stage.
(3) To install book drops at MTR stations, it is necessary to comply with the fire safety requirements and meet other conditions such as the operational management inside the stations and delivery arrangements of books. The locations of book drops at the above three stations fulfil the requirements and conditions as evaluated by the fire engineering consultant and endorsed by the government departments concerned. All the book drops are conveniently located near the main passages inside the stations.
When considering the introduction of the trial book drop scheme at MTR stations, we have duly taken into account factors such as the passenger flow and service coverage before deciding to install book drops at the above three major interchange stations. These three stations can serve patrons travelling on six major railway lines (those travelling on the Island Line and Tsuen Wan Line may use the book drops in Central Station; those travelling on the Kwun Tong Line and East Rail Line may use the book drops in Kowloon Tong Station; while those of the West Rail Line and Tung Chung Line may use the book drops in Nam Cheong Station). These three MTR stations are the most suitable ones for installing book drops in terms of passage flow and service coverage.
Ends/Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Issued at HKT 12:48
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