Seminar on “The Science and Art of Green Building Design” and Launch of Architectural Book on the National Library Building

The National Library Board (NLB) organised a seminar on “The Science and Art of Green Building Design” on 22 July 2008, which focused on the various architectural design aspects of ‘green’ building design and its significance in an urban environment.  The seminar aims to share NLB’s experience in designing a ‘green’ building and to create awareness of the benefits of ‘green’ building designs. NLB was awarded the Green Mark Platinum Award bestowed by the Building & Construction Authority in 2005 and the First Prize in the ASEAN Energy Efficiency Award under the category of ‘New and Existing Buildings’ in 2007.

Dr N Varaprasad, Chief Executive, National Library Board

Use Your Library but Love It Well

It was that time of the year again to celebrate your love for the library. On Saturday, 24 May, parents and school students gathered at the Jurong Regional Library to participate in the annual programme in its third year.

‘I Love My Library’ is a continuous initiative to engage the public to exercise considerate behaviour towards others in shared spaces like the Public Libraries. Dr N Varaprasad, Chief Executive (CE), National Library Board (NLB), was present to encourage the young library patrons. “Libraries are communal spaces. We need to be considerate towards the needs and feelings of other library users, and one way we can begin to do this is by treating library facilities with care and respect,” he said.

Dr N Varaprasad, CE, NLB, emphasising the importance of loving one’s library

Leading the Way to Loving Your Library
What better way to promote civic-consciousness than to demonstrate it yourself? Selected through their artwork submissions created for the ‘I Love My Library’-themed competition, 22 students have been appointed ambassadors of good library etiquette. They will set examples on how to use and love libraries through simple gestures, such as keeping quiet and handling all library materials with care.

“Very often, I hear people talk very loudly in the library, disturbing the peace and quiet of other users,” shared Chew Shao Quan, an ambassador representing Riverside Secondary School. “I hope that by setting an example I can encourage others to respect the need for silence in libraries,” he added. 
 

‘I Love My Library’ Ambassadors with Dr Varaprasad, CE, NLB (8th from left), and ‘I Love My Library’ Mascot (4th from right)

This year, 15 schools were also appointed to adopt an ‘I Love My Library’ Day in their school calendar, incorporating activities and messages which seek to inculcate the love of reading, together with the importance of good library etiquette, in their students.

We Appreciate You Too!
To further encourage good etiquette in the library, library staff will be constantly on the lookout for users demonstrating commendable behaviour. These users will be awarded a ‘You’re the One’ certificate. A group of users have also volunteered to be ‘Friends of the Library’ (FOLs), and will be walking around the Public Libraries to advise users on good behaviour.

Visual Indulgence Of A Different Kind

In a world where movies make up a big percentage of media entertainment, novels being adapted into movies are a dime a dozen. Movies from Jane Austen’s romantic novels, Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy and C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia series have achieved international successes. The same, however, cannot be said of novel adaptations from movies. 

 

On 20 June, in a collaborative effort with the National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS), the National Library launched the first-of-its-kind Screen-to-Print books where three local films – 12 Storeys, Eating Air and 4.30 - were adapted and penned into novels. Transposed into texts, these films have become refreshing complements to the cinematic experience.

A Profession to be Proud of

Like the books under their care, where covers do little to reflect the wonderful worlds of words spun between them, many a librarian would tell you that the joy in his or her job is not plainly visible to others. As promoters of knowledge, purveyors of imagination and preservers of the ever-enduring art of literature, the motivation behind a person in the library profession is not so much for want of limelight, but more for personal passion and deep-seated appreciation of intellectual enlightenment. However, credit should be given where it is due, and for the first time, national librarianship was conferred a dose of commendation of the highest order on 9 May.

 

READ! Singapore 2008 Launch

The move of any country towards globalisation entails an increasingly mobile population. Issues such as where the home is, where one belongs, one’s perception of identity and one’s sense of loyalty, become tension points that are real to Singaporeans, whether they are living abroad themselves, or have relatives who live overseas.

 Themed ‘Home and Away’, this year’s READ! Singapore 2008 – launched on 21 May at the Meritus Mandarin Hotel – sought to drive home the notion that reading brings communities together, thus creating a sense of belonging that is so crucial to Singaporeans living and working abroad. Books depicting experiences of immigrants settling into Singapore or Singaporeans relocating to other lands can heighten readers’ awareness of the cultural differences and challenges one would face when trying to settle into a foreign community. Through a selection of books and short stories that reflect these thematic issues, READ! Singapore 2008 aimed to nurture in Singaporeans a sense of belonging to their country, no matter where globalisation takes them.