Collection

Each library we visited went about creating, updating and weeding their collection in different ways.  On the one hand we had UWCSEA-East, where the librarian could build up a collection of 30,000 items from scratch, and had the luxury of being able to carefully consider the philosophy behind the collection.  On the other, we had the Institute of South East Asian Studies, with a 45 year history of receiving donations and making acquisitions and doing a stocktake and serious consideration of its collection for the first time this year.

Common themes were the shift from print to digital.  Each library had found their own balance between providing patrons with books and journals and enabling access to digital information.  Along with the shift to digital media came the responsibility of teaching information literacy (IL).  We were exposed to some innovative and very fun ways of teaching IL across the board where the emphasis was on making students comfortable with interacting with the librarians in the library setting, as well as being able to help themselves on line and in the book stacks.

Preservation of collection was an important issue given the hot and humid climate of Singapore and the expense of air conditioning.  Books got infected by mold, mold is both contagious to other books, and a health and safety issue for employees and users.  It's very expensive to treat.  Microfilm deteriorated, particularly the technologies prior to 1980.  Damp affect photos and films.  Digitization was expensive and time consuming and could result in the library running foul of copyright laws.  All this indicated that libraries needed to be extremely disciplined in their acquisition and weeding with some good co-ordination and networking to ensure that sufficient copies of valuable materials were available and preserved but without unnecessary duplication.

It was interesting to see how the different libraries managed their life style collection.  For some, like Ngee Ann Polytechnic, it was a drawcard for their students, located on the first floor with a very welcoming interactive bookstore / cafe type concept.  For Temasek, it was on a higher level, and less well patronized - in fact the librarian mentioned that sometimes students came there as it was quieter than the quiet / academic parts of the library.

Weeding policies differed by institution from a strict "anything older than 12 years gets thrown" to "we've never weeded". SMU had a sophisticated set of RUF (relative use factor) statistics which it used for purchasing profiling its collection and weeding.
 How does a library deal with it's unwanted books?  UWCSEA-East had created a read-and-recycle program outside the library, where the school community was welcome to take books and pass them on.  NLB had a bookcross and book sale scheme to get books out into the Singaporean community.

Most libraries were shifting towards an on-demand as opposed to "just in case"  collection development policy.  Collections were added to on recommendation from lecturers and students who were also invited to attend book fairs held by trade and public suppliers.  

Reference services and Information Literacy

A desk with "help" for primary pupils

Chinatown library has no librarian only a phone

When visiting a library it is always interesting to see where the reference services are located and how they are manned.  In terms of design, rounded desks or structures were a common theme.  Naming varied between "help" for the infants and juniors, to "information" or "reference" at they poly's / universities.  The public library in Chinatown had a "cybrarian" as it is a volunteer run library without permanent staff.  Should users have a research or other question, they can phone through to a reference librarian at the central library who is able to assist them with their request.

A few of the libraries employed the "roving" reference librarian model, or a combination of roving librarian and desk located.  One library had the reference librarians located in an office with the possibility of appointments for patrons.  NTU had specialist librarians who had a degree in the subject they were covering.  SMU dedicated a librarian to each school who is responsible for the collection, reference services and database.

An impressive structure in the reference section of NLB

In addition to the reference services, Information literacy (IL) was an important theme.  

Different libraries had different approaches.  Some had integrated IL into the curriculum, some had it as a separate compulsory topic and others offered it on a voluntary basis.  At Ngee Ann, a combination approach was employed.  First year students completed an online library orientation at the start of the school year.  Later, the librarian was invited as a guest lecturer into the classroom.  In further years the library worked in conjunction with lecturer request for more specialized or specific IL or citation or information retrieval needs.

SMU had a "compulsory" information literacy course.  When questioned on how this was enforced and whether it was credit bearing, they admitted that it was an administrative detail that students had to have attended to in order to graduate, like paying their fees and settling outstanding fines!  This was an interesting cultural insight as they explained that Singaporean students would generally not question the fact that something was compulsory, and would merely comply with the requirements. In fact they had a compliance rate of around 97%.

We also learnt about how SMU was using Wiki's in order to teach IL.  Law students for example had to research a particular aspect of Singaporean law and create a wiki on that.  In the process they learnt about research, searching, citation and the credibility (or not) of sources.  Their own posts were then exposed to scrutiny and the authority rating process.

Most of the libraries created some kind of a game or quest, particularly for their orientation programmes.  Some were on paper, and some made the use of mobile devices.  In the case of mobile devices, often the specifications had been set out by the librarians and the programming or design was done by students at their institution.

NTU has an instructional services arm which helps with creating awareness of the library, tutorials, literature reviews, tools, citation analysis and scholarly communication.  Each librarian is expected to be a teacher.  The take-away for me here is that IL does not stop with first or second years, but can also be vital for people further up the feeding chain as they find out how to market themselves and their research in an increasingly digital academic world. I was very impressed with their services in combining their technical and digital and library knowhow to the needs of lecturers and professors. They also have a youtube channel for self-education.

A little bit of fun on roving reference librarians:

 

Physical Environment

big, moveable signage

One thing our visit demonstrated wonderfully is that design has become a huge factor in libraries.  In its presentation, UWCSEA in fact focused on design aspects, as it had two new, purpose built libraries.  Careful thought had also gone into the design of the Tanglin Trust libraries, in particular the new senior library.

Libraries had given careful thought about the balance between creating welcoming spaces that would have a low entry barrier for patrons, and allowing for quiet space where study could take place without interruption.  Most libraries had quiet zones and quiet rooms, usually behind sound-proof glass.

Everything on wheels

These days libraries are not only used to collect and store print collections, but also provide digital services which need to be accessed either on site or through links provided by the library.  Libraries are designed to function as communal spaces where presentations, talks, concerts, exhibitions, book clubs and other events can be used.  For this reason furniture should easily be moved in those areas.  At UWCSEA-East for example, all furniture including bookshelves, tables, chairs and booths are on wheels.

Through bright signage, libraries designate different areas, for example check-out, reference / information areas, quiet areas, computer areas, study rooms, audio visual areas, and special collections.

Clear identification of areas

Separating out of parts of collection for easy retrieval

pods for multi-media perusal

With the shift to more digital material, space has been created for the viewing of films, listening to podcasts or music, recording presentations, making movies and other digital activities which users need to partake in.

Cosiness and intimacy for Primary library

In their design libraries clearly differentiated between themselves with view to their user groups.  For example the infant and primary libraries were very cosy and friendly, with low and soft furniture, and bright colors.  The life-style areas of libraries were interactive and accessible with clear and funky signage and furniture, a non-adherence to tradition Dewey Decimal cataloguing and permission to talk and interact with fellow users without a "shushing" librarian.

Friendly atmosphere for infants

Special collections were separated for their users. For example at Tanglin Trust school the materials for IB students was organised by subject.  In the Ngee Ann library a special area was made for "wealth creation" including related books, a large exhibition on the life of the person donating the funds for the library, Bloomberg screens and space for presentations of famous local businessmen and entrepreneurs.

Innovative use of materials and recycling

The children's library at the Singapore Central library had made a special effort to be an ecological library with careful choice of materials used in creating the library and also in its collection - 30% of the collection relates to environmental and natural themes.

And finally, as this video below shows - accessibility to the library and its services is paramount.

Promotion

Student designed periodical stand

Lifestyle section organised like a bookstore 

The survival of both the physical entity and concept of "the library" depends on it being well utilized.  All libraries visited were extremely proactive in their promotion efforts.  Most began during the orientation week with activities to get students into the library.  These ranged from library orientation programs in the form of games, exhibitions and events.  At NTU, each new student gets a letter from his/her "personal librarian" inviting them to tea!

Ngee Ann Polytechnic use their interactive space for presentations and lectures, outside visitors and have created a very inviting "lifestyle" area based on a bookstore / cafe concept.  They were the first academic library here with a life-style area and took their ideas from shopping centres and bookstores and cafes and ventured out of the library to see where their students hung out.  As a result they created a board game zone which is a popular cafe concept in Singapore.  They have an extensive collection of both common and unique board games.  Having a Board game rooms was a theme we saw duplicated in nearly every library here.

Ngee Ann - a collection on wealth creation situated next to the Bloomberg monitors and a presentation area where speakers are invited on finance / entrepreneurial / business matters.

Cafe with bar stools and ipads in Lifestyle area

Interactive desk top with games and quizes

Student designed lighting

Singapore Polytechnic differentiates different areas of the library by colors and has invited students and lecturers to play an important role in the design of the library and the library furniture and hardware.  This has resulted in students feeling a sense of "ownership" of the space, as well as very aesthetically pleasing areas.  Details such as display, lightening, notice boards, magazine cabinets etc, had been designed and created on campus.

Innovative flexible signage

The library was also exploring having makerspaces with 3D printers, lego mindstorms and creative space where students were challenged to create something with materials provided.

interactive booth

Almost all the libraries provided some kind of an e-newsletter or alert service to subscribers.  Most had some presence on social media, the most common being Facebook.  In some instances the Facebook presence was as a marketing or information tool on services or newbooks or event advertising (Temasek, Singapore Poly, Ngee Ann, NTU, NLB, ), in the case of SMU they explicitly chose to use it purely for social interaction and to use other mediums for promotion.  Temasek had an interactive booth at its entrance with various features including an auto-photo link to Facebook.

Libraries also created posters to share around campus advertising new books, events or other services.  A particularly cool idea was that of the off-site or on-site book fair.  In the case of Ngee Ann, as they are affiliated with the Ngee Ann shopping centre, they hold a big book fair in the shopping centre, where vendors put books on display for sale.  Students can then go and browse and "purchase" a book, if it is not already in the library catalogue, it is then purchased by the poly, processed and immediately loaned to the student.

Some of the libraries (UWCSEA, Ngee Ann, NLB) had a bookcrossing / read and recycle programme which both helped promote the library and literacy, but also helped with the recycling of weeded library materials.  The NLB has a huge public booksale each year which is very well received by the public.

Since libraries are moving towards more digital material, they also needed to make the digital collections visible through signage or links on their websites, in the facebook or other social media pages or other posters.

display "tree"

Thematic display

Promoting digital through posters

Promoting digital chinese dialect material

Database information

E-journal promotion


Most of the libraries had a promotional video, a selection of which have been posted below.

SMULibrary promotional video on YouTube

National Library promotional video on YouTube

Pre-departure Entry

Thoughts about your learning in this module:

I'm thinking that students are a lot more prepared for venturing into other cultures and that there is a lot more information available and disseminated. I also like that there is an awareness of your own cultural bias and less thought that "our way is the right way" - much more sensitivity.

What you are thinking about prior to your departure:

Very confused about the expectations for the two modules INF407 and EEB310. Very frustrated at the fact that the information is not well or properly laid out in the module areas of Interact, that the Subject Overview is unclear and incomplete. Worried that I'll miss something or leave something out.

Any concerns or anxieties that you might have:

How I'm going to manage to take in all the information and ensure that all the questions for the module are addressed both on the intercultural side of things and on the study visit side of things. That I finish all the expected parts of both courses and deliver correctly and on time.

Some thoughts on what you might experience:

Librarians may resent insensitive questions or find the questions very basic and not worth spending time on. It may be difficult to phrase comparative questions based on what we've learnt in such a way that it doesn't appear to be an attack or criticism of the way in which they do things.

How you might respond:

When I feel uncertain I usually clam up and don't ask the questions I'd need to ask. Or if other people do ask the questions I get very nervo

us if I see by the body language that the person who is answering is feeling upset or defensive.

What you might do if you face an uncertain or unfamiliar situation:

Since Singapore is English speaking it would be fairly easy to ask for advice or help.



This is an interesting article on common mistakes foreigners make in Singapore and things to be aware of.

Here is a link to explain the Singapore education system which is useful background reading as we are mainly visiting educational institutions.

Cultural Exercises

These are the cultural exercises we were required to consider prior to the trip.  I found both the readings and the exercises quite challenging - not in the difficulty sense, but in the sense of confronting your own views and culture.

The chapter that the exercises were taken from is : What is Culture? from  "Culture and Education" which is now on my list of books to read.

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Exercise 1.1 – You are what you buy.

In a table like the one below, list 10 items that you see as essential to your day-to-day life. Then, for each item, provide the reasons why you bought it and list the effects (as many as you can think of) it has on your identity.

Item	Purpose for buying	How does this shape who you are?
Mobile phone	Communicating – I need it to talk to my friends – they all have one	I’m part of the group and not left out. I’ve got the latest ringtones so I’m pretty up-to-date.

Adapted from Wadham, B. A., Pudsey, J., & Boyd, R. M. (2007). Culture and education. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Pearson Education Australia (p. 3).

Exercise 1.6 – Evaluating Values

Make a table like the one below and list all the values you think you hold. These might be ethical values, but they also might be ‘things’, such as family or education. Then list where you think you go them from and you you engage in these values on a day-to-day level.

Values	Where you go this from	How you ‘practise’ it
Freedom
Authority
Justice
Equality
Education	Your parents	Go to university

Adapted from Wadham, B. A., Pudsey, J., & Boyd, R. M. (2007). Culture and education. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Pearson Education Australia (p. 10).

Exercise 1.7 – My Family Culture

In a table like the one below, insert elements from your own family’s activities to get a sense of the culture of your family.

Elements of Culture	My family’s examples
Symbols and signs	My dad wearing a kilt to Sunday lunches at Grandma’s house.
Language
Values
Beliefs
Norms
Rituals	Sunday lunch with Grandma; attendance at school 5 days a week, for around 12 years
Material objects

Adapted from Wadham, B. A., Pudsey, J., & Boyd, R. M. (2007). Culture and education. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Pearson Education Australia (p. 12).

Exercise 1.10 – The ‘Who am I?’ test

Write down here the first 20 statements you think of about what makes you the person you are. You might want to think about how the context of doing this exercise is shaping your choice of identity markers about yourself.

Who am I? Statements about what makes me, me.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.

Adapted from Wadham, B. A., Pudsey, J., & Boyd, R. M. (2007). Culture and education. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Pearson Education Australia (p. 14).