Privately funded project has books, materials on Chinese culture and arts
By Leslie Kay Lim, The Straits Times, 31 Jan 2013
A DIFFERENT kind of library opens today in Chinatown.
Staffed almost completely by volunteers and funded privately, the new library@chinatown is taking community support for a public library to a new level.
More than 40 National Library Board (NLB) volunteers will man the 1,000 sq m space on the fourth floor of Chinatown Point mall, helping to sort and shelve books.
NLB chief executive Elaine Ng said the organisation's 25th library is "an experiment in innovating what we can offer the public, over and above our existing public libraries".
Long-time library volunteers, like human resources assistant manager Darien Tock, 46, and freelance henna artist Chandrika Diwakar Sambhare, 37, will be part of the staff at the new library, which will also have one NLB engagement officer on hand.
"It's something different," said Mr Tock, when asked why he came on board with the new library. He had previously volunteered with Cheng San library.
First-time volunteers will also make their mark on the new library. Ms Nur'Afifah Abdul Kalam, 16, will be helping out with her mother.
Said the soon-to-be Nanyang Polytechnic student: "I used to be the one borrowing but now I can be the one behind the scenes."
Patrons will be encouraged to use e-kiosks and the services of a "cyber librarian" - an online portal to find books and get information.
Mrs Ng said that should this self-service style library do well, they would consider further tapping volunteer support.
Support from the community was key to getting the project off the ground.
Retail mall veteran and Perennial Real Estate Holdings executive chairman Pua Seck Guan, whose firm manages the mall, put together a consortium for the venture, including German fund manager SEB, NTUC FairPrice and Singapore Press Holdings.
Paying homage to the area's heritage, the library@chinatown has a Chinese-themed collection.
The first library in the area, it houses about 30,000 books - in Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil - on Chinese arts and culture.
Audio-visual materials are also available. A collaborative room with former radio channel Rediffusion will allow patrons to listen to old dialect broadcasts.
Mrs Ng said she hoped the library will appeal to older residents, as well as those who harbour affection for the area.
She also welcomed the community's involvement.
"We've never had such a generous donation in the past that would enable us to actually open a public library," she said, adding that "we can now talk new themes and possibilities".
The library will be open from 11am to 9pm daily except on public holidays.