The two-storey Sham Shui Po Public Library opened in March with a spacious layout and lots of natural light from its large glass windows. Alongside shelves of books, it also has a multimedia library, a computer centre and self-service kiosks.
But visitors said people in the city did not seem very drawn to the new library. “During the pandemic, we got used to staying at home and reading e-books,” Hongkonger Garfield Leung Chun-kwan said. “It changed our habits … and maybe it’s made people less likely to go to the library.”
Hongkongers made 18 million visits to public libraries in the first 10 months of this year, according to the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. This number is well below the 34.7 million visits in 2019, before Covid-19 struck.
Wilson Chu Chun-wang, president of the Hong Kong Library Association, said the numbers reflected a “universal trend” affecting libraries around the world.
Chu said libraries were often known for being “very boring”, but there had been a shift in recent years to make them more interesting, by creating a more open and inviting environment to draw readers back.
Quiz time
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When did the Sham Shui Po Public Library open?
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What facilities does the new library have?
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According to Garfield Leung, why are fewer Hongkongers visiting the library?
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How many people visited the public libraries in Hong Kong in 2019?
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What should the city do to attract more people to visit the public libraries?
Sample answers
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in March
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shelves of books, a multimedia library, a computer centre, and self-service kiosks
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Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, people are used to staying at home and reading e-books, and people are less likely to go to the library.
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34.7 million
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make them less boring by adding comfortable spaces to read and work with others (accept other reasonable answers)
