Smartphones blamed as Hongkongers lose interest in the city's libraries
Are city's 77 libraries on borrowed time? 6.2 million fewer items checked out of libraries amid smartphone craze
Hongkongers have been borrowing fewer books from public libraries over the past five years - with the city's obsession with smartphones being blamed for steering people away from literary pursuits.
The city's exam-oriented education system was also criticised for not developing a love of reading among students. And one cultural commentator said many of the "readers" visiting libraries were there for the air conditioning or to kill time.
The number of items borrowed from the city's 77 libraries, including 10 mobile libraries, fell 6.2 million over the past five years, from 61.7 million in 2009 to 55.5 million last year, according to the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, which manages the public libraries.
Jimmy Pang Chi-ming, head of publishing house Subculture, said the reading culture in Hong Kong had been bad for years.
"Nowadays, Hong Kong people just surf the internet with their phones or tablets whenever they're free," Pang said. "Fewer people read books so there are also fewer new books being published. It's a vicious circle."
He said local publishing houses would seldom launch new books beyond the run-up to the summer book fair.
Pang added: "Those who are supposed to have the most leisure time for reading - students - do not read for leisure now but for school assignments as they have to fit in with the exam-oriented education system."