Young at heart: Director of Leisure & Cultural Services Thomas Chow, Southern District Council Chairman Mar Yuet-har and Director of Architectural Services Yue Chi-hang play with children at a story-telling session in Stanley Public Library.

Stanley Sports Centre and Stanley Public Library have opened, providing Southern District residents with new venues for exercise and self learning.

Speaking at the opening ceremony today, Director of Leisure & Cultural Services Thomas Chow said the growing population in the district, now approaching 25,000, called for more cultural and recreational facilities.

"To meet the needs of the community, the department has developed, among other projects, the new sports centre and public library in the Stanley Municipal Services Building."

Facility list

The sports centre's facilities include a multi-purpose arena where users can play basketball, volleyball, football and badminton, a dance room, a table-tennis room, a children's play room, a multi-purpose activity room and a rooftop garden.

The centre opens from 7am to 11pm daily. On every second and fourth Monday of the month, the sports centre will be closed from 9am to 3pm for maintenance.

Stanley Public Library has an initial stock of more than 50,000 items. It has an adult library, children's library, newspapers and periodicals section, and an extension activities room.

Hi-tech equipment

There is a computer and information area in the library which consists of 10 computer workstations to access the Internet and two Internet express terminals. Other facilities include two multimedia workstations for children and four online public access catalogue terminals. There are 56 seats in the library.

Two self-charging terminals are installed in the library to reduce the need to queue up at the service counter to return and borrow books. A book-drop service outside the library is also available for readers to return borrowed items after closing hours.

The library opens from 10am to 7pm from Mondays to Wednesdays and on Fridays. It closes at 5pm on Saturdays and Sundays, 1pm on public holidays and closes all day on Thursdays.