Bulletin Number Two 1983

Ten Years of Progress — University Library System In December 1982 ， the University library System observed the tenth anniversary of the opening of the University Library building. The building was opened in 1972 when the University was undergoing great physical expansion. The three other library buildings were also opened within a period of less than two years, from 1971 to 1973. During the ten years, there has been tremendous growth within the Library System which is even more significant, if less dramatic, than the building boom of the early seventies. The opening of the new University Library building provided for the first time adequate space to house the collections gathered during earlier years as well as the staff of the centralized processing operations for the entire System. Since then, there has been substantial growth in the size and scope of the collections and in the services offered to the University community. At the time of its opening, collections of approximately 125,000 volumes left the University library building looking vast and empty. There were about 400 reels of microfilm, and some 1,200 current journals were being acquired. The circulation during that first year was just under 12,000 loans, because only senior students and teaching staff were allowed to borrow from the University Library, and the building was open only during office hours. Ten years later, the collections exceeded 350,000 volumes, and while the building still has capacity for growth, it is beginning to look rather full. By now, over 4,700 reels of microfilm and 38,750 microfiches are available, and more than 4,600 journals are currently received in the University Library alone. Circulation in the last year exceeded 180,000 loans, over fifteen times more than that in the first year, with borrowing privileges available to all teachers and students, and the building is now open for seventy-nine hours per week during term time, an increase of thirty-four hours over 1972. The University Library has thus served as headquarters of the System. The Library System: staff and holdings While the collections and services have grown at a dramatic rate, the staff of the Library System has grown at a much more modest rate. From 1972 to 1982 ， the staff grew from 112 to 142 including all levels of personnel. In the last few years, the only additional posts have been those funded by the Faculty of Medicine. The continuing expansion and development of services throughout the System is made possible by the hard working library staff, who are now serving more than three times the number of registered users as in 1972. The University Library System has had good support during these years from the University administration and from the community. The overall expenditures for the library System have amounted to an average of seven percent of the entire University budget. The book fund has increased from about HK$800,000 in 1972-73 to $4,300,000, including that for the Faculty of Medicine, in 1981-82. The steady inflation during this peirod has resulted in great rise in book prices, somewhat eroding the purchasing power of the book fund. Also, as the University matures, more emphasis is placed on collecting journals, which are more expensive to purchase. Periodical subscriptions for the whole System have increased from 2,200 titles in 1971-72 to nearly 6,000 titles in 1981-82. Gifts from various sources, numbering over 85,000 volumes, have added many useful and valuable items to the collections. During these ten years, millions of dollars have been invested in the Library's collections, and some 350,000 volumes have been acquired, bringing the total holdings of the System above three quarters of a million volumes. Services to Readers The development of services to readers is among the most encouraging aspect of the last ten ACADEMIC/CULTURAL EVENTS 9