The 35th issue of Books and the City, published by the Public Library of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), is now available to the public. Themed “Books as a Companion, a Bright Future Awaits”, this issue reviews various programmes launched by the Public Library of IC, with the aim of building Macao into a “City of Reading”, including the “Toddler Reading Reward Programme”, “Fun Family Reading”, “Student Fun Reading Award Scheme”, “Fun Reading School Commendation Scheme”, and “Baby Book Club – the Parent-child Space of Infants and Toddlers”, in the hope of inspiring readers to have interest in reading through diverse reading programmes and offering readers a cultural feast provided by libraries.
In this issue, the “Library Handbook” introduces the “Voices on Paper — Culture Exhibition of Cantonese Opera and Cantonese Songs”, co-organised by the IC of the Macao SAR Government and the Sun Yat-sen Library of Guangdong Province (Guangdong Center for Preservation and Conservation of Ancient Books), which promotes the historical significance and artistic essence of Cantonese opera and Cantonese songs through the display of relevant literature from Guangdong and Macao and the organisation of related workshops. In the “Author’s Say” section, Michael Wong, editor-in-chief of the book Macao Zheng Guanying, reveals the narrative techniques in writing the stories of Zheng Guanying in Macao, telling the stories of Macao through illustrations, and exploring the ties between this important figure and Macao in the past, thus enriching the historical and cultural value of Macao. The “Reading Landscape” section captures the highlights of some reading activities of the Public Library of the Cultural Affairs Bureau in 2023, in order to integrate reading into everyday life. The section “New Launch” introduces a rich variety of new books, movies, music and magazines. This issue also features 12 brief yet insightful book reviews in Chinese, Portuguese and English.
A total of 3,000 copies of Books and the City are available free of charge at all branch libraries under the IC, higher education institutions, Tap Seac Gallery and several bookstores, as well as cultural and art facilities in Macao. The online version is available on the website of the Public Library of the Cultural Affair Bureau at www.library.gov.mo.
