Bulletin Number Two 1983

years: new areas of service have been added, and existing areas have been expanded. The library staff is now very actively engaged in the general education programme of the University, as well as in giving a variety of special assistance to help students make the best use of the facilities. Facilities have expanded tremendously so that several hundred readers are accommodated by the System every day. Considerable audio-visual services were offered by the Library even before the establishment in 1979 of its Audio-Visual Department, which is well equipped with hardware, and its collection of over 7,500 items of software is still being developed. The Information Retrieval Service ， available since 1981, offers on-line access through satellite to DIALOG in the United States to utilize a large number of electronic data bases on all subjects ， so that very efficient searches can provide bibliographies and abstracts very rapidly. This relatively new service has yet to reach its full potential. The more conventional library activity of circulation is benefiting from computer application as well The IBM computerized circulation system purchased in 1979 and put into service in December 1980, handles over eighty percent of all borrowing and returning transactions. The IBM system will eventually be extended to the three branch libraries at the three Colleges and the one at United College is only awaiting the delivery of some necessary equipment. Publication Programmes The University Library System has also carried out a fairly extensive programme of publication. The University Library Series includes three sets of reprints of rare and valuable Chinese books. The University Library Bibliographical Series, begun in 1977 ， has so far published five numbers, including union catalogues of serials and of audio-visual materials held by the System, and historical bibliographies on serials, government publications, and newspapers of Hong Kong. In addition it has issued its Handbook (both Chinese and English versions) annually, and a publicity brochure, which was first published in 1973 and revised in 1981. Since 1979 ， the System has issued CUHK Library News, a quarterly bulletin of library information and notes, again in two versions. After ten years of growth and development the University Library System has become one of the most advanced and resourceful libraries in this part of the world. Not only does it serve the needs of the University community, it also makes its resources and services available to other institutions in Hong Kong and, to some extent, to the community at large. Interview University Librarian Dr. L.B. Kan Q. Despite its short history ， the University Library System has already become one of the largest libraries in Southeast Asia. Can you tell us some of its characteristics? A. In most respects, the University Library System is like any other similar system of middle to large size, with a collection of books, periodicals, and other library materials brought together and organized to support the programmes of teaching and learning and of research in the University. Its uniqueness lies in the bicultural emphasis of the University as reflected in the collections. The holdings are nearly equally composed of Oriental and Western materials, and among the Oriental materials are some 380,000 books in Chinese and about 20,000 in Japanese, with a few hundreds in Vietnamese and other languages. This bicultural emphasis runs through the entire System. Q. Hong Kong's geographical setting is obviously partly responsible for this bicultural emphasis. Has this factor also contributed to the overall development of the System? A. Hong Kong is in a geographically advantageous position. We are at a crossroads, where the east and west meet. It is a cosmopolitan city with free trade, free market and no currency control. We may therefore import books and materials from different parts of the world, without any restrictions, to develop the library collections. We have been purchasing books from North America, the United Kingdom and other European countries, Southeast Asia, Mainland China, ACADEMIC/CULTURAL EVENTS 11