North Lamma Public Library, Public library in Yung Shue Wan, Lamma Island, Hong Kong
The North Lamma Public Library occupies the first and second floors of a three-storey building near the Yung Shue Wan ferry pier. The library covers 177 square metres and holds over 27,000 items. The ground floor houses the Heritage and Cultural Showroom, while the third floor contains mechanical and electrical facilities.
The library was set up as part of Hong Kong's public library network, which expanded to bring library services to outlying islands. The ground floor showroom holds archaeological objects found on Lamma Island, showing that people settled here long before the modern village took shape.
The building's concrete surfaces carry Chinese calligraphy, and wooden details draw from the way books were traditionally made and bound. These touches are easy to notice as you walk through the space and give the library a character rooted in local craft.
The library occupies the first and second floors of the three-storey building, while the Heritage and Cultural Showroom is on the ground floor. It opens Monday to Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 6pm, and Sunday and public holidays from 10am to 1pm; it is closed on Thursdays. The showroom opened on 10 July 2019.
The building was designed around the idea of "a book about Lamma Island": its facade reads as rows of long wooden slats or bamboo slips bound like a book. On the concrete wall is carved Zhu Xi's Song-dynasty poem "Thoughts on Reading".
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