@phdthesis{bibcite_7328,
  author = {Yiu-chuen Wan},
  title = {Borrowed Place, Borrowed Time: A Study of the Development of the Public Library in Hong Kong, 1841-1997},
  abstract = {The thesis studies and explains the development of the public library during the 156 years of British colonial rule in Hong Kong.

Part one of this thesis (chapters two, three, and four) examines the development of libraries open to the public during the first century of British Rule (1841 to 1941). This argues that the colonial government was apathetic to the provision of public library services and thus independent organizations took up the responsibilities of satisfying the reading needs of Hong Kong residents. In this connection, the history of seven major pre-war libraries, namely, the Morrison Library, the Library of the China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, the Victoria Library and Reading Rooms, the City Hall Library, the Hok Hoi Library, the Library of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, and the Fung Ping Shan Library, are examined.

Part two (chapter five) focuses on libraries operated by the Government of the Occupied Territory during the Japanese Occupation from December 1941 to August 1945. Unlike the British, the Japanese Government planned to set up a public library after its occupation of Hong Kong and succeeded in doing so within three years. However, libraries operated by the Japanese were largely for the political motives of propagating the Japanese culture and prolonging the military rule in Hong Kong.

Part three (chapter six, seven, eight, nine, and ten) examines the development of the public library in colonial Hong Kong since 1945, particularly after the opening of the post-war City Hall Library in March 1962. Disparate forces affecting the development of the public library are reviewed in chapter six, indicating that political considerations preceded other factors in shaping the public library history of Hong Kong. The colonial government remained apathetic to the public library service and its responsibility for developing the public library was increasingly handed over to the municipal Councils following successive local government reforms. This eventually led to the existence of two self-determining administrative entities, the Urban Council Public Libraries and the Regional Council Public Libraries, in the provision of public library services from 1986 onwards.},
  year = {2000},
  publisher = {Aberystwyth University},
  language = {English},
}