Media Release: Re-opening of Jurong West Community Library (JWCL)

If you're near Jurong West this Friday, drop by the upgraded JWCL. Here's the press release that went out early this week:

Jurong West Community Library (JWCL) will re-open its doors to the public at its new site in Jurong West Central on 10 March 2006 at 10 am, after being closed for relocation for two months. The library will be co-located within The Frontier Community Place managed by the People's Association (PA).

The collection size in the new JWCL will be increased by more than 30% and will be housed over a larger floor area. The new JWCL will also offer residents a holistic learning experience via the National Library Board's (NLB) first-ever seamless physical integration with The Frontier Community Centre (CC).

At the three-storey building, residents can bring the books from the library to any location within The Frontier CC to browse before loaning the books at the borrowing stations on the ground floor of the library. The integrated model effectively expands the reading and studying areas beyond the boundaries of the library to other community spaces within the building.

This integrated learning environment at JWCL is experimental and will be put on a 6-month pilot period. After the pilot phase, NLB and PA will evaluate the user behaviour patterns and decide whether to continue with this integrated model.

The idea for the integrated learning, social and recreational hub for JWCL was first mooted by Mr Cedric Foo, Member of Parliament for West Coast GRC, Pioneer Division and was welcomed by National Library Board (NLB).

Said Dr N. Varaprasad, Chief Executive, NLB, "The development of Jurong West Community Library is in line with NLB's L2010 plan to transform our libraries into social spaces where users can learn, interact and bond via our library collections and programmes. The unconventional concept of JWCL places it right in the heart of community life and activity. Amid this unique setting, we hope to help our library patrons move beyond the experience of books and enjoy multi-faceted learning journeys and engage in a holistic learning experience."

"We are very happy to partner with the library to offer more convenient services to our residents. In this way, we hope that more residents will come to the CC and support our community bonding activities," added Mr Lee Mun Hoe, the Chairman of The Frontier CC Management Committee.

This is the second partnership between NLB and PA, after the successful synergy between the Marine Parade Community Library (MPCL) and Marine Parade CC, which are co-located at Marine Parade Community Building and opened on 28 May 2000.

"Ten on Ten" Birthday Bash
JWCL will also re-open to an exciting suite of programmes to mark its tenth anniversary, including a giant birthday card for library users to pen their wishes, an exhibition of its history and development, live band performances and a photography workshop...

... For more information on the programmes, library users can call 6332 3255. Or better yet, drop by the library for details on upcoming programmes and events.