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The launch ceremony of the Education Resource Centre at the Kowloon Public Library was held today (May 4). Set up by the Hong Kong Public Libraries, the centre offers a wide range of education reference materials for use to the general public, particularly teaching professionals, researchers, students and the working population, for their pursuit of continuing studies and self-learning in education and related subjects.
Officiating at the ceremony were the Assistant Director of Leisure and Cultural Services (Libraries & Development) Mr Lee Yuk-man, and the Institute Librarian of the Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) Mr Michael Robinson.
Mr Lee said the increasing emphasis on continuing studies in society had resulted in a growing demand from the general public for more self-learning resources.
To better meet the needs of the public, the Kowloon Public Library was being renovated to set up an education resource centre, he said.
Located on the ninth floor of the Reference Library of the Kowloon Public Library, the 200-square-metre centre has a comprehensive education collection of more than 20,000 items including books, journals, electronic resources and online databases.
The collection covers a wide range of reference tools on education related subjects including educational theory, psychology, sociology, civic education and school administration. The centre also provides information on language learning and teaching including linguistics, phonology and bilingualism, as well as local and overseas examination papers, syllabuses and proficiency tests.
In view of the increasing public interest in early childhood development, pre-school education resources for parental guidance and teaching are also available in the centre.
In addition to utilise the centre's study spaces for reading books, local and overseas education serials, readers can make use of its facilities, like the language leaning workstations, internet workstations and online public access catalogue terminals, to conduct language learning or search for multimedia and electronic resources.
The centre will also organise extension activities including educational seminars, book displays, library tours and demonstrations of the use of electronic databases to give readers a better idea of the resources and facilities available in the Centre.
An education lecture on the art of communication was held today. Deputy Head of the Educational Psychology from the Counselling and Learning Needs Department at HKIEd Dr Rosa Chui shared her views on "How to handle students with autism/Asperger syndrome" while the Teaching Fellow of the Curriculum and Instruction Department Ms Chan Shing-yin discussed "The art of communication among teachers and students".
Books related to the subject "The art of communication" are on display at the Education Resource Centre from now to June 30. A mini-exhibition on education models and teaching kits is also being held at the centre until Sunday (May 6).
In addition to the provision of educational resources in the centre, the Hong Kong Information Collection is also available on the same floor in the Kowloon Public Library. More than 30 seats, seven Internet workstations, three Online Public Access Catalogue terminals and two language learning workstations are available for the public.
The Kowloon Public Library opens from 10am to 7pm from Mondays to Thursdays, and from 10am to 9pm on Fridays. It opens from 10am to 5pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
For enquiries, please call 2926 4062.
Ends/Friday, May 4, 2007
Issued at HKT 19:01
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