New Chinatown library opens

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.

For instance, mall owner CP1 leased the space and, together with Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho temple, provided the necessary funds. NLB declined to reveal the cost of the project.

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.

* First volunteer-run library doing well
By Janice Tai, The Straits Times, 18 Mar 2014

MADAM Siti Norraini Shamsuden, 46, is the go-to person for books on Chinese culture and history at a library in Chinatown.

Ask her and she will point you to the exact shelf where the Chinese calligraphy or fengshui books are.

"I know where Sun Tzu's Art of War philosophy books are or where the Chinese handicrafts books are because they are so interesting," said the housewife. Her interest in Chinese arts and culture grew after she started offering her time last year at the library.

She is one of 60 volunteers who man a tight ship at the first volunteer-run library here, up from 40 when the library first opened last year.

One year on, the library on the fourth floor of Chinatown Point mall has done well even though it has no full-time staff running it.

President Tony Tan Keng Yam, who visited the library yesterday, said volunteers could be tapped to run other libraries if this "interesting experiment" proves successful.

Post by Dr Tony Tan.

The helpers, who include students, professionals, housewives and retirees, come in a few times a week to shelve books and help patrons find books.

The 1,000 sq m library houses about 30,000 books, in the four main languages here, on Chinese arts and culture.

Dr Tan noted that many of volunteers belong to the pioneer generation and was touched that they have continued to contribute.

He said: "As the President, I have the responsibility to look after our financial reserves but it is also important to build up our social reserves so that people feel a sense of community and we become a more compassionate society."

The National Library Board's chief executive Elaine Ng said the board will look into roping in more volunteers for its library at the upcoming Orchard Gateway Mall in Somerset, slated to open by the second half of the year.

** Volunteer-run library celebrates 3rd year
library@chinatown is first and only one here staffed this way
By Wong Shiying, The Straits Times, 5 Mar 2016

Decked with festive lanterns, a 1960s-style photo booth and a live band, library@chinatown bustled with activity yesterday.

Standing out in the crowd were senior citizens in purple uniforms, who are volunteers at the library - the first and only one here fully run by volunteers.

First opened in January 2013, the library on the fourth floor of Chinatown Point celebrated its third anniversary and volunteer appreciation day yesterday. Over the past three years, volunteers at the branch have doubled from 40 to 80.

"The majority of volunteers are active seniors and volunteering at the library helps to keep them physically and mentally agile," said the branch's manager Wanying Chen. "The model creates a force multiplier that has encouraged more people from the community to volunteer."

She did not say if there are plans to have another branch fully run by volunteers, but said: "The concept of working with volunteers has expanded to other library branches. An example is that of the Taxi Shifu Reading Club, which is run by volunteers at Ang Mo Kio public library."

Earlier today, Minister of State for the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) and Ministry of Health, Chee...
Posted by National Library Board, Singapore on Friday, March 4, 2016

As most of the volunteers at library@chinatown are above 50, there are unique features to help them. An autosorter is used to sort returned books into six categories and reference numbers on books are kept simple by omitting decimals. The volunteers also enjoy flexible working days.

Ms Chow Wai Ling, 69, who volunteers once a week, also works part-time as a kindergarten assistant. "We come down when we can. This is where I keep my mind active and I look forward to coming here every week," she said.

Mr David Lim, 70, volunteers as a service steward and programme facilitator. Apart from shelving and arranging books, his duties include mediating between seniors at the e-newspaper kiosk. "As a senior, I can relate to them and break up their quarrels more easily," said Mr Lim, who also runs programmes on paper cutting.

Mr Dhara Venkata Agoya Kumar, 38, an Indian expatriate, used to serve at the Marine Parade public library before transferring to the Chinatown library to fuel his interest in Chinese culture. "Volunteering here has opened my heart and mind to Chinese arts and culture. I have met so many friends who I now regard as family," he said.

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