In an effort to support research needs, the University Libraries, with the approval of the Senate Library Committee, has recently set up a Central Fund (Interlibrary Loans) to subsidize all current HKU postgraduates in procuring materials through our interlibrary loans service. Under this programme, the Libraries will be paying half the cost incurred in obtaining photocopies of journal articles or loaned copies from external sources, while the requester will be required to pay the remaining half of the cost. In the year 2000, the Libraries will provide up to 10 subsidized ILL requests for each eligible postgraduate. They will be processed on a first-come-first-served basis until the Central Fund (Interlibrary Loans) is exhausted. The service will be offered for a trial period and reviewed after one year, starting from January 3, 2000. For details, please call the ILL Department at 2859-2215 or Ms. Lorraine Lok, ILL Librarian, at 2859-7011.

From November 22, 1999, library materials with the location symbol [SL], which are mainly materials which accompany main texts, e.g. CD-ROMs, floppy disks, cassette tapes, etc., have been relocated from the Special Collections on the 1/F of the Main Library to the Circulation Counter on the Ground Floor. This move was effected to make it more convenient for users who wish to borrow books together with accompanying materials at the same time. For use or loan of such materials, please enquire at the Circulation Counter.

Changes have been made in the OPAC display for materials housed in the Compact Storage on the Ground Floor of the Main Library. For items with the following location symbols: [X], [XLB], [XP], [EX], [ERX], [AVX], and [SL], the Opac display now shows the exact location as 'Main Circ. Counter'. Please enquire at the Circulation Counter for access to these materials.

The Main Library has long been offering single study rooms for reservation by higher degree students for monthly use. However, from January 2000, due to popular demand, one single study room will be offered for short-term use whereby anyone with a borrower's card will be eligible to book that room for 1 3-hour session per day. Reservations can be made by filling in a request form at the Circulation Counter in person, or by telephone at 2859-2202. Enquiries regarding session times and rules for reservation and use should be directed to the Circulation Librarian, Ms Lucinda Wong, at 2859-7009, email kpwong@hkucc.hku.hk, or to the Circulation Counter at 2859-2202.

The Special Collections is pleased to present another online database in our growing 'Electronic Hong Kong Collection'. In order to facilitate research and make our unique collection of listed company papers easily searchable, an online index to these documents has been created. The index includes access points not normally used in a bibliographic database, such as company name, issuer name, material type (warrant, debts, etc.).

The collection itself now comprises more than 10,000 documents released by Hong Kong listed companies and financial institutions to the general public since the late 1940s. These arise from the issue of new shares, derivative warrants and debt securities, mergers and takeovers, repurchase of shares, company reorganization, etc. and reflect not only the activities of listed companies but also the overall economic conditions of Hong Kong.

The database will be updated regularly as new papers are added to the collection. Web access is provided at http://asterix.lib.hku.hk/company or from the University Libraries' Web page for electronic resources, http://www.hku.hk/lib/eres.html, under 'HKUL Locally Created Databases'.

Another addition to our locally-created digital library is the union catalogue of the Overseas Chinese collections in the University of Hong Kong Libraries and the Jinan University Library, which has just been completed. Web access is provided from the HKUL Web page for electronic resources, http://www.hku.hk/lib/eres.html, under 'HKUL Locally Created Databases'.

The University Libraries have formed a Joint Documentation and Information Centre on Overseas Chinese Studies with Jinan University Library in Guangzhou and the union catalogue is the first database to be produced by the Joint Centre. Currently it has over 1,700 titles, including both Chinese and western language titles. The Chinese characters in the database are represented in GB code. Another database of laws and regulations relating to Overseas Chinese is under construction.

This database has been created to highlight HKU theses and dissertations, to make them more accessible and easily searchable, and to open up what is a very valuable resource. Web access is provided from the HKUL Web page for electronic resources, http://www.hku.hk/lib/eres.html, under 'HKUL Locally Created Databases'.

HKUTO will later be enhanced with further content, such as the Chinese characters for titles and for author's names, where available. The printed theses are housed in the Main Library's Special Collections, with the exception of a few still shelved in the branch libraries. They number more than 6,500 and have been collected since 1941.

The library has recently acquired National Educational Research and Development Centers : research literature, a set of 32 CD-ROMS containing the full text of some 5,500 ERIC documents,1980-1997, and the bibliographic records of some 8,600 documents, 1966-September 1997.

Access to the online service, ComputerSelect Web, is now available. The service features 65,000 hardware and software specifications, 11,000 vendor and manufacturer profiles, as well as a 13-month rolling archive of high technology information from approximately 100 journals. The service also provides access to and searching within a collection of carefully selected Web sites.

• Nobel Lectures is a 6 CD-ROM set containing the full-text of Nobel lectures, biographies and presentation speeches previously published in the Elsevier series authorised by the Nobel Foundation. The original series covered lectures for all 6 prizes, 1901-1970.

• Asia: Official British Documents 1945-1965 is a major archive of official documents relating to matters in the Asia Pacific region during this critical period. Included are records of the various Cabinet Committees, diplomatic correspondence, and papers of the prime ministers.

Other useful titles include:

• Information USA : Access to the Government online version
• Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia rev. 8^th edition on CD-ROM

• Analytical Abstracts database is the online equivalent of Analytical Abstracts, the premier abstracting periodical for information in analytical chemistry. Coverage is from 1978 onwards.

• Zentralblatt Math Online Database is the online equivalent of Zentralblatt Math, the major abstracting and reviewing periodical for mathematics and computer sciences literature. Coverage is from 1931 onwards.

• Russian Mathematical Surveys archival CD-ROM contains all the 1998 issues of the English translation of the journal Uspekhi Matematicheskikh Nauk.

From our Libraries Homepage http://www.hku.hk/lib go to <Libraries Electronic Resources>.

From September to October, orientation tours were organized for all freshmen taking the B.Sc.(SHS), BDS, CDSA and dental hygienist courses. The library also organized library instruction courses for BDS year I and II students in October to familiarise students with the use of CD-ROM databases and Web resources. Similar library instruction courses will be scheduled in the second semester for the MDS students.

To facilitate self-directed learning, more computer-assisted learning software and CD-ROMs are now available. The new titles include: Temporal bone dissector, Gross anatomy of the neck, Cross-sectional anatomy tutor, Dentistry for people with special needs, and Diagnosis and Management of pulpal and periapical disease. 55 videotapes were also added to the library collection during the past three months.

A delegation of 33 members of the Macau Dental Association visited the library on November 8. Professor M.C. Meikle, Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, visited the library on November 22.

The first term is always particularly busy for the library and this year was no exception. The Education Librarian, Ms Mimi Yeung, and library staff provided a full orientation and bibliographic instruction programme for a total of 815 new Faculty of Education students and staff. During September and October, 28 library orientation sessions and 3 bibliographic instruction sessions were conducted for first year and postgraduate students respectively, and 3 open sessions on how to use CD-ROMs were conducted by the Education Librarian in October.

A specialized site 'IT in Education' has recently been added to the library homepage and features many useful web resources related to IT-based teaching and learning. Access is available from the Education Library homepage under 'Internet Resources' or at http://www.hku.hk/lib/ir/education.html. Many new links, especially to electronic journals, have also been included.

A display of the library's electronic resources was mounted in the entrance lobby in November for the first time. It will become a regular feature and is intended to be replaced quarterly.

In order to reduce the noise and general socializing problems near the cluster of personal computers on the second floor, the large tables located there were replaced by single open carrel tables.

A team of eleven visitors led by Mr. Roy Lui, Librarian of the High Court, visited the Law Library on December 3 for a familiarisation tour and to examine our INNOPAC library system. The Law Library staff demonstrated several modules of INNOPAC and Mr. David Palmer, Systems Librarian, held a briefing session on technical and other questions related to the system.

The Chinese bound volumes were transferred to the mezzanine floor in late November in order to provide additional space on the ground floor for the Chinese book collection which has been expanding at a very rapid rate. Chinese non-book materials have also proliferated, with 175 items being recently added to this already significant collection.

The library took out a subscription to Primary Care Online, a web-based resource of 9 online textbooks for nursing students, in November. Trial access during October had proved very popular.

The Medical Librarian, Mrs Mary Leong, warmly received a group of 200 alumni on October 31 during their Visit Nostalgica et Novelica to the Medical Faculty facilities. The visitors were given a brief introduction to the library then looked around at their leisure. Many remarked on the enormous changes that had taken place and had quite a few questions to ask.

Professor Lei Chun Bing of the Beijing Central Medical Library of the People's Liberation Army visited the library on November 6, bringing with him the latest updates of the Chinese Medical Current Contents (CMCC) database as a donation to the library. Professor Lam Tai Hing of the Department of Community Medicine recently brought back with him the latest updates of the CBM Disc (the Chinese Biomedical Database 1981- ), a donation from the Beijing Medical Information Centre. Library users had been eagerly awaiting updates for these two useful research tools for some months and we are extremely grateful to both Professor Lei and Professor Lam for their valuable assistance.

The snake which found its way into the library during Typhoon York was eventually located under a photocopier several weeks later and taken away by two burly policemen despite its miniscule size.

The Music Library recently received several major donations from Professor C.C. Liu, Ms Fong Yim Fun, Dr Kate Stevens and Mr John Thompson which will be indispensible to scholars and students in the study, teaching and research of the music of modern China, Cantonese opera, Chinese music in the area of xiangsheng, shuoshu, tanci, and world music.

To commemorate the 150^th anniversary of the death of Chopin, and in collaboration with the Department of Music, a Chopin exhibition was organized from October 20-21 in the Convocation Room of the Main Building, and October 22-November 14 in the foyer of the Main Library.

Effective December 15, borrower privileges for audio-visual materials have been revised in line with those of the Main Library. All may now be borrowed for up to seven days. Please refer to the Circulation Section on the Music Library's web page for further details.

Dr Kan Lai Bing and Dr Ma Tai Loi presented a paper entitled Training of Library Professionals in Hong Kong: from the 60s to the 21st Century at the Conference on Chinese Libraries in the 21st Century, November 4-5, at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Mrs Angela Yan, Mr Lawrence Tam, Ms Cheung Mo Cheng and Ms Angela Ko also attended the conference.

Ms Lucinda Wong, Circulation Librarian, and Ms Esther Woo, Fung Ping Shan Library, continue to serve respectively as President and Hon. Secretary of the Hong Kong Library Association for the year 2000. Miss Alice Wong, Special Collections, and Mr. William Ko, Systems and Serials Departments, were elected Council members.

Kan, Lai-bing & Leong, Mary. Services to the community in a metropolis without a national library: the Hong Kong experience. Hong Kong Library Association journal, no. 19, 1999, pp. 87-100.