Public Library of Cultural Affairs Bureau launches 34th issue of Books and the City
The 34th issue of Books and the City, published by the Public Library of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), is now available to the public. In order to continuously promote the concept of “enriching life through reading” and with the aim of building Macao into a “City of Reading”, the Cultural Affairs Bureau has been making great efforts to optimise the software and hardware facilities in public libraries, extending reading activities to more people in the community by launching reading activities with diversified themes and forms. The theme of this issue is “Reading • Joy — the ‘City of Reading’ Series of Activities”, and it is hoped that readers will be immersed in the sea of books through a variety of activities as if they are enjoying a spring breeze.
In this issue, the “Library Handbook” introduces the “Talks on Reading — Short Talk and Sharing Session”, one of the city-wide reading activities on “4 • 23 Reading in the City” in which Hong Kong’s famous host Janis Chan, Macao’s football player Leong Ka Hang, and Macao’s well-known designer Au Chon Hin shared with readers on the spiritual healing brought about by reading, and how it illuminated their futures in life. In addition, IC collaborated with the National Library of China (China National Centre for Preservation and Conservation of Ancient Books) to launch an online “Theoretical Course on the Conservation and Restoration of Ancient Books” in April. In this section, the Director of Office of the China National Centre for Preservation and Conservation of Ancient Books, Wang Honglei, and a nationally renowned expert in the restoration of ancient books, Du Weisheng, share the meaning of the course design and the significance of ancient book restoration. In the “Author’s Say” section, Fong Wai Peng, author of Fong Wai Peng’s Painting Works: Green Mountain, talks about her creative concept of ecological conservation and how to present vibrant natural scenery and realise the unparalleled beauty of nature in paintings. The section “New Launch” introduces a rich variety of new books, movies, music and magazines. This issue also features 8 brief yet insightful book reviews in Chinese, Portuguese and English.
A total of 3,000 copies of Books and the City are available free of charge at all branch libraries under the IC, higher education institutions, Tap Seac Gallery and several bookstores, as well as cultural and art facilities in Macao. The past 33 issues are also available on the website of the Public Library of the Cultural Affairs Bureau at www.library.gov.mo.
The inauguration ceremony of the “Macao Library Week” in 2023
Three guests were invited to share their reading insights in the “Talks on Reading — Short Talk and Sharing Session”, one of the city-wide reading activities on “4 • 23 Reading in the City”.
Director of the Office of the China National Center for Preservation and Conservation of Ancient Books, Wang Honglei.
In Fong Wai Peng’s Painting Works: Green Mountain, the author presented the charming natural scenery in Macao.