I refer to the letter headlined 'Funds wasted' by Frank Cheng (South China Morning Post, November 7), about City Hall's reference library. The Hong Kong public libraries system is implementing a subject specialisation scheme in phases for its five major libraries. Under this plan, the reference library at City Hall will be developed into a business and industry library with a comprehensive collection of books, online databases and non-printed materials. To prepare for renovation work, the scale of services of the reference library has been temporarily reduced by transferring part of its collection, which is not related to business and industry, to Hong Kong Central Library. We are now in the process of building up the new stock and finalising details of the renovation work. It is expected that the work will be completed around the middle of next year. We apologise for any inconvenience caused to users by the interim arrangements. We will closely monitor the progress of the project. If Mr Cheng would like further information, he can contact me at 2921 2360 for further information. YAM KIN-PANG Senior Librarian City Hall Public Library for Director of Leisure and Cultural Services
