Director's Column

It has been more than three months since the National Library reopened its doors and your response to the new library has been very encouraging indeed. With our wide variety of exhibitions and collections, a record breaking of 150,000 library users like yourself visited us. In the first two weeks, the daily number of visits averaged 7,000 on a weekday, and 9,000 on a weekend.

As much as we welcome the flood of visitors and reading enthusiasts, we have enjoyed and appreciated your feedback and suggestions. Many of you have complimented us on the extensive selection of materials and the excellent service given by the staff. For that, we thank you and we want to say it has been a real pleasure serving you. Your compliments, feedback and suggestions will spur us on to new and greater heights in providing for your needs. The National Library will continue to build on our collections and services so as to enrich your library experience.

Meanwhile, do take note in your diaries a very special date – our official opening on 12 November 2005. In conjunction with this momentous event, the National Library Board is organising a major library conference from 13 to 15 November 2005 on the theme “Celebrating Knowledge: The Power and Potential”. Join us in celebrating knowledge with international librarians and knowledge experts, who will gather to discuss topics of common interests. This knowledge-sharing opportunity will allow participants to learn from each other and bring home with them a wealth of information and experience. We are privileged to have Paul Saffo, Director of the Institute for the Future, to shed light on the future of the library. Joining him is Dr Susan Whitfield, who will speak on the International Dunhuang Project, a collaborative international digitisation project between the British Library, the National Library of China and a few other libraries. Dr Whitfield has also kindly agreed to speak to the public on Sunday, 13 November, 2005. Please look out for the details of this interesting talk, and sign up for it.

In this quarter, the National Library will also be launching two exhibitions to mark its official opening. As the nation’s National Library, we want to promote the love for reading and writing. Therefore, in the Singapore Literary Pioneers Gallery, we celebrate the lives and times of our early literary pioneers where the likes of Prof Edwin Thumboo, Mr Muhammad Ariff Ahmad, Mr P Krishnan and Yao Zi will be featured. Through this insightful exhibition, we hope to encourage budding writers to pen their thoughts and words. In another exhibition, From Books to Bytes, we chronicle the story of how the National Library has evolved and grown over the years. Come and join us as we take a walk down the memory lane of the National Library.

Speaking of memory lanes, Dr Derek Heng from the History Department at the National University of Singapore will share on the story of Singapore’s port in this issue of BiblioAsia. Read about the little-known activities and the role of the port in early Singapore. Also, a special feature on the Rare Materials Collection will present to you the treasure trove of historical books, journals and manuscripts found in the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library. Explore the new National Library with our in-depth layout of the building and catch a glimpse of our Lee Kong Chian Reference Librarians through a special montage of pictures. In addition, familiarise yourself with our reference and audio-visual services at the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library by reading the detailed write-ups. Finally, enjoy the book reviews and our forthcoming events and programmes.

We look forward to seeing you at the library, and happy reading!

Ms Ngian Lek Choh
Director
National Library