The Seac Pai Van Library, under the Macao Public Library of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from its Portuguese acronym), was inaugurated in the morning of 24 September. The opening ceremony was officiated by the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam Chon Weng; the President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Mok Ian Ian; the Member of the Administration Committee on Municipal Affairs of the Municipal Affairs Bureau, Isabel Celeste Jorge; the Deputy Director of the Infrastructure Development Office, Luís Manuel Silva Madeira de Carvalho; the Head of the Department of Public Housing of the Housing Bureau, Chan Wa Keong; and the Head of the Division of Secondary and Vocational Technical of the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau, Leong I On. The Seac Pai Van Library officially opens, providing residents quality reading experience and reading space.
After the opening ceremony, all the guests were guided by the Acting Head of the Department of Public Library Management, Lo Chi Keong, to have a library tour, in order to have a thorough understanding about the library’s spatial configuration, equipment and services. IC has been actively promoting reading habits in the city by establishing libraries in various districts for the public to access the reading facilities. The Seac Pai Van Library, located at Av. Vale das Borboletas, Complexo Comunitário de Seac Pai Van, 6˚ andar, Coloane, features a beautiful environment with an extensive mountain view and an inner garden. With a total area of 2,074 square meters and more than 300 reading seats, the Library is a comprehensive public library that integrates the functions of learning, leisure and social intercourse. It currently has a collection of approximate 40,000 volumes and 3,500 audiovisual materials, with the estimated storage capacity up to 75,000 volumes.
In spatial design, the Library focuses on the creation of space and environment. The Library features personal reading space and social interaction areas, such as a multi-functional room, group discussion room and family zone, making itself an important public place in the district. In addition to the general library functions and areas, including periodicals area, reading area, self-study area, children’s reading area and audiovisual materials areas, the Library also features a nursing room and a self-service station, offering a quality and convenient reading experience and reading space.
Meanwhile, IC has been actively facilitating inter-departmental cooperation in an effort to provide more quality cultural services to the public. In regards to a growing population of public housing residents in the northern district and Edifício do Lago in Taipa, IC and the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ) jointly launched an interlibrary returning service which allows residents to return books at all public libraries under IC (excluding Senado Library) and reading rooms in the Centre of Permanent Education and the Lakeside Multi-Purpose Activity Centre under DSEJ. In order to strengthen the network of libraries in Macao, IC and the University of Macau jointly launched “Interlibrary Loan” and “Document Delivery” services, making full use of public resources through the sharing process. Upon simple registration at the service desks of IC’s public libraries, residents may borrow books and materials and request for copies of an article or a chapter from the books and journals in the University of Macau Library.
The Seac Pai Van Library, located at Avenida de Vale das Borboletas, Complexo Comunitário de Seac Pai Van, 6.˚ andar, Coloane, opens from 2pm to 12am on Mondays, and from 8am to 12am from Tuesdays to Sundays (Only security guards and cleaning stuff will be on duty from 8pm to 12am, and no library staff members are available; and is closed from the 1st to the 3rd day of Chinese New Year, and at 2pm on Chinese New Year’s Eve). For enquiries, please call IC through tel. no. 28261633 during office hours or visit the Macao Public Library’s website at www.library.gov.mo.
