The Kowloon Public Library () is a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

located in

Ho Man Tin Ho Man Tin is a mostly residential area in Kowloon, Hong Kong, part of the Kowloon City District. History Section of lists of villages in the book ' (literally ''The History of Bao'an County, Xin'an County'') published in twenty fourth year ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. It was previously known as the Kowloon Central Library (). It is managed by the

Leisure and Cultural Services Department The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), is a department in the Government of Hong Kong. It reports to the Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau, headed by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism. It provides leisure and cultural ...

(LCSD), and is one of the major public libraries in Hong Kong. The 12-storey building comprises about of floor space.

History

The first public library in Kowloon was the Waterloo Road Library, opened 1965. It was replaced when the first phase of the then-Kowloon Central Library opened on 16 November 1984, housed in the first purpose-built library building in the territory. The second phase was opened by Lady Youde, wife of then-

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Sir Edward Youde, on 9 September 1985. This event is marked by a plaque at the ground level entrance. The building was designed by the Architectural Office (a branch of Public Works Services of the Hong Kong Government since evolved into the Architectural Services Department) with significant contributions by staff architect Pau Shiu-hung. It was originally run under the auspices of the Urban Council Public Libraries before that entity was dissolved into the newly formed LCSD. The library took on its present name in 2000 in anticipation of the opening of the Hong Kong Central Library. A renovation of the library began in May 2005. The facilities were refurbished, and the Computer and Information Centre was expanded. In January 2007, the exterior of the library was refreshed when the dark brown walls were repainted white and green.

Facilities

The students' study room on the third storey is well-used by students of many schools in the vicinity; namely Pui Ching Middle School, New Method College, Wah Yan College, Yu Chun Keung Memorial College, and others. During the examination period each year (March to May) admission cards are required to enter, while the study room is open to the general public the other nine months of the year. On 4 May 2007 a Education Resource Centre opened on the ninth storey providing members of the public and teaching professionals opportunity for continuous learning in education and related fields. It now contains over 40,000 physical and electronic resources covering educational theory, psychology, sociology, civic education, school administration, linguistics, phonology, bilingual education, as well as local and foreign serials, syllabuses and learning assessment data. It also provides information on language learning resources in both Chinese and English, as well as several "language learning booths".

Facilities by floor

References

External links

Kowloon Public Library
{{Authority control Ho Man Tin Libraries established in 1984 Library buildings completed in 1984 Public libraries in Hong Kong 1984 establishments in Hong Kong Libraries in Hong Kong