Newspapers and Periodicals services are provided by the three special independent units: Current Issues Reading Area, Back Issues Reading Area and Microform Reading Area for the purpose of providing readers with various types of worldwide newspapers, periodicals and historical microform materials of different subjects, mostly related to China, Hong Kong and Taiwan for informational, recreational and research needs.

The Current Issues Reading Area and Microform Reading Area are located at the 5/F and the Back Issues Reading Area is located at 4/F of the Hong Kong Central Library. Chinese and English newspapers and periodicals published in Hong Kong and in other major cities of the world are offered to readers of different age groups. Microform readers are available for the general public to search information on newspapers, periodicals and historical documents at the Microform Reading Area.

Seats and Internet ports are provided in the Library for readers' use. Internet and Online Database workstations, CD-ROM workstation, Multimedia Information System workstations and Online Public Access Catalogue terminals are available for public access.

RESOURCES

The Current Issues Reading Area houses more than 4,000 titles of periodicals and 300 titles of current newspapers in Chinese and English languages by subscription mainly from Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Europe, America and other Asian countries. About 100,000 volumes of back issues and 30,000 bound volumes are being kept in the Back Issues Reading Area. The collection covers the following subjects:

• General periodicals published in Hong Kong and other parts of the world
  
• Academic journals and newsletters published by academic organizations, tertiary institutes and professional bodies in Hong Kong
  
• Academic journals of various subjects, including publications of professional bodies, published in other parts of the world
  
• Major Chinese and English newspapers published in Hong Kong, Mainland China provinces and overseas

A collection of newspapers and periodicals in six Asian countries: the Philippines, Indonesia, India, Thailand, Nepal and Pakistan are housed for Asian readers residing or working in Hong Kong of current events and information of their own country.

More than 17,000 items of newspapers, periodicals and historical documents of various subjects in microform format, mostly related to China, Hong Kong and Taiwan are acquired in the Microform Reading Area for research purpose. These include:

• Newspapers, periodicals and documents recording different historical events in Hong Kong from the colonial period to present times
  
• Historical newspapers, periodicals and documents related to Chinese studies

Readers can make use of the collection for better understanding and research on various subjects.

Online Catalogue

Members of the public are welcome to search the Library's Online Public Access Catalogue for any specific titles and relevant topics.

LOCATION & OPENING HOURS

The Current Issues Reading Area and Microform Reading Area are located at:
5/F., Hong Kong Central Library
Tel.: (852) 2921 0349

The Back Issues Reading Area is located at:
4/F., Hong Kong Central Library
Tel.: (852) 2921 0355

Opening Hours

Links to Online News and Newspapers

The Newspaper and Periodical Library has developed the links to selected websites of online news and newspapers worldwide. Members of the public may click on the links to access the online databases of online news and newspapers of various countries and places.

Disclaimer

The web sites listed in this Resources Guide are provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only. Their inclusion here does not constitute an endorsement or an approval by Leisure and Cultural Services Department of any of the products, services, or opinions of the organizations or individuals concerned. Leisure and Cultural Services Department bears no responsibility for the accuracy or the content of external sites or for that of subsequent links. Please contact the external site's administrator for answers to questions regarding any of these sites.