HP Enterprise Services announced it has signed a 10-year contract with the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People’s Republic of China, to help the Hong Kong Public Libraries (HKPL) deliver public library services in Hong Kong.

Under the terms of the agreement, which was signed by Hewlett-Packard HK SAR Limited, HP will implement and provide ongoing support for a new Integrated Library System (ILS) that is designed to maintain efficiency and support new library offerings to meet the increasing demand for HKPL’s services.

Virtua ILS, which HP is scheduled to implement at HKPL in 2011, is a Unicode-compliant offering from VTLS Inc., a global provider of library solutions. The system delivers a user-friendly, self-service experience to library visitors and includes a pilot implementation of Fastrac, a radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to enable automated management of book borrowing rights.

“We want to address a wide range of community needs – from continuing education to life-long learning through promotion of literary arts – with services that are reliable and comprehensive,” said Lee Yuk-man, assistant director, Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Hong Kong. “To meet this objective in the face of growing demand, we trusted that HP could help upgrade our system due to the breadth of their service capability and technology offering as well as their long history of providing customers with quality IT support.”

HP will integrate Virtua and Fastrac with a broad array of HP products and services to replace HKPL’s legacy Library Automation System. The new system will combine HP software, servers, storage, networking, desktop and printing equipment. HP services will include application development and management, workplace, help desk, and business continuity and recovery designed to future-proof HKPL’s service delivery to customers by building one of the most advanced ILS offerings in the market.

“Modern libraries, like Hong Kong Public Libraries, are looking to innovate with new services and new ways to engage their communities,” said David Fergusson, general manager, HP Enterprise Services – Hong Kong. “The partnership with VTLS leverages our expertise and unmatched breadth of products and services to deliver Hong Kong Public Library’s next-generation services today and into the future.”

About Hong Kong Public Libraries

Managed by the Leisure & Cultural Services Department, HKPL provides free public library and information services to the entire Hong Kong community through a network of 66 public libraries and 10 mobile libraries. More information about HKPL is available at http://www.hkpl.gov.hk.

About HP

HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. The world’s largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure to solve customer problems. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com