Chinese Language Meetup participates in READ! Singapore

With permission from Preetam, who's also the organiser for the Singapore Chinese Language Meetup Group:

Meetup this Thursday May 19, 7 PM. The venue is Tea Chapter on Neil Road, the nearest landmark is Maxwell Food Court and the nearest MRT is Chinatown.

We will be introducing some starting books, some of the places where you can learn Chinese in Singapore and other learning resources. We will also be exchanging travel stories and travel tips.

Just so that we know how many are turning up, please RSVP on the meetup site.
http://chinese.meetup.co m/115/events/4684110/

At the time of this post, there were 10 people who have RSVPed. Preetam also agreed to participate in READ! Singapore by choosing books from Chinese book selection.

No one is forced to read the proposed books of course. But it would be good to count the meetup group as a participant. I have recommended these two books:


7-Eleven狂想曲: 函函青春小说
Love at the Convenience Store by Han Han
NLB Call No.: SING HNHN (Singapore Collection)
Click here to check item availability
Direct link to discussion guide


希尼尔微型小说
Short Stories of Xi Ni Er
NLB Call No.: SING XINE (Singapore Collection)
Click here for item availability.
Direct link to discussion guide

They are short stories, with each story averaging about 10 pages in relatively large font. Perfect for me 'cos I have to reply heavily on my Chinese-to-English dictionary to decipher almost every character.

I'm choosing "Love at the Convenience Store". It's written by a young lady, real name Chen Qiyun. She's currently an undergrad at NTU (if I read the blurb correctly). Wah, early 20s and published author. There's a picture of her behind the front cover.

I asked Preetam if the members of the Chinese Language Meetup were experts in the Chinese Language. He says most are "learners", which prompted me to join. What better way to improve my Mandarin than to discuss about books in the language, in an informal setting. Read Preetam's post about the group here.


Tag: readsingapore, meetup.com

Book vouchers to be won: READ! Singapore

In case you weren't aware:

READ! Singapore Book Quiz Contest
* 1st prize: $500 book voucher
* 2nd prize: $300 book voucher
* 3rd prize: $100 book voucher

How to participate

1. Borrow any FOUR books (need not be from the READ! Singapore selection)
   
2. Attach that loan receipt to the contest form (available at the libraries).
3. In the contest form, name any one book title from each of the four official languages -- English, Mandarin, Malay, Tamil.
4. Deposit the form in the contest box in library.

Winners will be drawn and notified by 6 Aug 2005.

In case you missed the link above -- here's where you can check out the titles. Enough hints?

As you can tell, the NLB would like you to visit the READ! Singapore site (just check out the titles at the very least), and drop by the nearest library. The book vouchers will make a good gift, wouldn't they?

Tag: readsingapore

David Weinberger's re-explanation of KM

Updated: 8 Jun 05

David Weinberger puts it so succinctly:

The K stands for blogs.
The M stands for tags.
Put 'em together and you get "KM."*

*Knowledge Management

I just have one problem -- my Technorati tags don't always work with Blogger.com.

I created this My Technorati Tags post to list all the tags I've used, which is like an Index to retrieve my posts (by subjects, if you will). It also serves to remind me what tags I've used, so that I don't duplicate.

Unfortunately, the tags don't always work. For instance, I know I have several posts tagged rambling librarian interview. But Technorati tells me there are no posts with such tag, when I know I have this, this, this, this, this,and this.

Maybe I'm missing something here.

Anyway, I sometimes resort to using the Google search (provided by Blogger.com) with the same Technorati tag terms in quotation marks, like this -- "rambling librarian interview".


Tag: tags, tagging

Ask a librarian to help with a creative project

Came across this MacNN.com article "Apple brings "The Studio" to more retail stores" (31 May 05), and this made me sit up:

The Studio helps customers with creative projects, rather than technical questions. "It's a place where our team of Creatives -- filmmakers, musicians, photographers, and designers -- work one-on-one with you to make your creative projects a reality. Whether you're making a movie, a photo album, a song, or a logo, we can help you make it amazing."

I'm not a Mac user, less so an evangelist (not that there's any thing wrong in that). I took notice of the article because it articulated what I've been trying to tell my public librarian colleagues -- that in today's context, public librarians should act as (for want of a better term) "creative information consultants" to users rather than just "information technicians".

To me, using Google and even online databases are technical skills. Once you learn the basics, you don't need a librarian to help anymore, because you have access to those tools. Even navigating within the library has been made intuitive.

Basically, as a "technician", we're being made redundant.

But as "information consultants", we do more than provide answers or show users how to go about obtaining information. The information gathering part is just one aspect. There's also the thinking and planning. As consultants, we also leverage on personal networks to provide answers to the user.

I'm suggesting that librarians work one-on-one with users to make their "projects" or tasks better than they can do alone (within reasonable timeframes). And not just school projects. It could be "projects" like "Buying a Digital Camera" or "Renovating my apartment".

The technical part for those "projects" would be to cite magazines and books on the above subjects. The creative consultation part is really to offer suggestions, ask other people on the behalf of the enquirer (even via blogs and forums).

The idea is for public librarians to really make a difference in the user's entire information value-chain. And if I may even paraphrase: "To help you make it amazing."

OK, I know my views might not sit well with librarians. So fire away. :)


[Tag:librarianship, public librarianship, public service librarian, role of libraries]

Storytelling at the MRT - READ! Singapore

If you were at Jurong East MRT station on 2 June 2005, around 2.30pm, you might have caught the "storytelling/play" in the front carriage going towards Woodlands. Two very talented volunteers enacted scenes from the book "城南旧事" (Cheng Nan Jiu Shi - "Memories of the Southern Suburbs").


NLB Call No.: LNHY
[Check for item availability]

Here's a shot of my colleagues and the SMRT staff getting ready. The lady in red (extreme right) was one of the performer, Xiangling (who hails from Guangzhou, China).


Here they are again, making their way to the platform (going North, towards Woodlands Station).


I observed that if one carries an officious looking banner, people will clear a path for you. Notice the wide empty pathway infront of my colleague who's carrying the banner. I wonder if it will work with those people who don't give way for alighting passengers.


My colleague, Peter (Executive, Programmes & Events Management) doing the introduction. To his right (left of picture) is the other volunteer performer, Zhaojia, who also hails from China.

We had space for up to 80 people (teens and adults were our main target audience), but as you can see from the next picture, most of the passengers were really shy. They stayed far, far away.

The 3 guys here are SMRT staff.

Shy but still curious.


Well, after the train passed a few stops, we managed to persuade people to move to the front to watch the play.



Both of the volunteers (teachers in a local language school) were really good. I don't know how to describe it. For several moments, I forgot I was in a train.

Watching the performance made me curious about the book so I'm now flipping through the pages. My ability to read Mandarin not too good though. Anyway, I understand that it's about everyday life in Beijing in the 1930s, as recounted by a young girl named Yingzi. The book is a semi-autobiographical work of Lin Haiying.



The performance ended exactly on cue, at Woodlands MRT station.

End of show.

Storytelling in the train isn't new. SMRT has collaborated with NLB for past two years, holding storytelling sessions -- like this and this one -- in the trains as part of the Great Singapore Stories event.

But a performance targeting at teenagers and adults is something new. It's the first time we're trying out a teen/ adult programme. I wish there were more people attending though. Apparently that week was the school remedial week so we couldn't get that many teens (from our school contacts) to attend. We also learnt that we should have separate publicity for teens (the schedule was grouped with the other SMRT storytelling sessions for Children).

I was talking to the SMRT executive in charged of community projects. It's tough trying to think of ideas to get teens to participate. Maybe a music fest ala "Unplugged"?


Tag: readsingapore

Sunday afternoon essay: Musings on War, Poetry and Life

Timesonline (4 Jun 05): The kamikaze pilot who chose life before empire. Picture of 81 year-old Shigeyoshi san in the foreground; a salvaged Zero Fighter in the back. I'm particularly moved by the caption:

Shigeyoshi Hamazono survived two missions as a kamikaze pilot... The pilots, he said, were said to have saluted the Emperor before death, but they probably cried for their mothers instead.

I saw Shigeyoshi san on TV once. He cried as he recalled that episode in his life.

Once, on a plane, I conversed with a New Zealander about people and life in general. At one point, we talked about history and wars, where I commented that so long there was Man, there would always be wars. Because human memories are short.

History lessons, public education -- they all help to remind but I think our propensity to forget exceeds our comprehension of true suffering.

Time is a great desensitiser (this is neither good nor bad thing -- it just is).


Black flower in the sky: Poems of a Korean bridegroom in Hiroshima
[Check for item in NLB catalogue]
See also: Thunder gods: The kamikaze pilots tell their story

Museums, libraries and National Archives might slow down the "knowledge deterioration" but then these are not exactly the favourite hangouts for the masses, generally speaking. Such institutions also get destroyed in wars.

Even if museums and libraries are popular hangouts, there's still the fact that reading about history is different from hearing about it from people like Shigeyoshi san. I can see him cry. But how much can I appreciate why?


Rupert Brooke and Wilfred Owen: Selected poems
[Check for item in NLB Catalogue]

Here's a thought: Suppose Virtual Reality develops to a point like what they had in The Matrix(where Neo downloaded Kung-fu techniques and became an expert in seconds). I would imagine history lessons being "taught" this way. Experiential Learning brought to a higher plane. We might even experience the horrors first-hand. Scary thought, but then it's a price to pay for peace I think.

The Matrix (Warner Home Video, c2001)
[Check for item in NLB catalogue]

Humans turn war into something beautiful. It becomes romanticised.


Poems of Love and War/ A. K. Ramanujan
[See also: Poets of the Tamil anthologies: Ancient poems of love and war]


The Iliad of Homer/ Homer [Check for item in NLB Catalogue]

Here's a poem I wrote in May last year. It's not anti-war. More of a thought-experiment on what a young soldier might think in the midst of battle:

Soldier's Lament
-----------------
Why did they lie to me so?

For God and Country
I was told

But when shrapnel's a-flying
And boys are a-dying

God is on vacation

The only land that matters
Is the sodden earth
In which they bury me

Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen
See also: The poems of Wilfred Owen]


The War Poems of Siegfried Sassoon
See also: Siegfried Sassoon: A study of the war poetry

Many years ago while holidaying in an overseas resort, I was asked by the resort owner, "If Singapore goes to war, would the people fight?". I said, "Yes" without hesitation.

I was 19.

I'll be in my mid-30s in a few years time. My answer would still be 'Yes'. It might not be what I really want, deep in my heart. But I'd do it anyway.

Because I, like the rest of us, am only human.

As a military pilot, there was no way to say no. I was grateful for my training, and the responsibility given to me, and my Zero fighter. This was my duty. That night all I thought about was my mission.” ~ Shigeyoshi Hamazono

How we remember and why we forget/ Rebecca Rupp
[Check for item in NLB catalogue]


Great poets of World War I: Poetry from the great war
[Check for item in NLB catalogue]


Poets of World War II
[Check for item in NLB catalogue]


Air combat paintings: Masterworks collection
[Check for item in NLB Catalogue]


Aftershock: Poems and Prose from the Vietnam War
See also: War story: Vietnam war poems


[Check for item in NLB Catalogue]

[Tag:world war, poetry]

All librarians should have a Book Blog

I've been maintaining a "BookBlog" (i.e. a blog on books) for almost a year now, over at Raw Notes. The reason for keeping a reading journal was simple: I can't remember all that I've read. And sometimes, I find myself wanting to recommend a title but unable to cite it.

Prior to the blog, I've been keeping a record of titles that I've read (it lasted for about 10 months 'cos I lost the journal...). Unless Blogger.com shuts down, I'd have my reviews quite permanently. Plus searchable online.

After I started keeping records, I realised its value went beyond just recalling the titles. It was useful to analyse what I've read, just to see if I've expanded my reading interests. I'm pretty sure 10 years from now, I'd appreciate a record of this phase in my life via the books read.

Wished I'd kept a record since the day I started reading in Primary School. Well, better now than never.

I don't always blog each book that I've read. When I post, I try to go beyond listing the titles only, but I don't want to write a book review per se. The reason for naming the blog "Raw Notes" was because I only want to post notes (e.g. might not be complete sentences), like the scribblings in the margins of my school textbooks. But inevitably, I always end up writing longer... it's the pressure of writing for the web, I tell you.

If I were a teacher, I'd certainly do an experiment to see if a student's motivation for improving their writing increased if they blogged. I've certainly been urging for librarians to blog on what they've read. It's an incentive to write better, if nothing else.

The bookcover images link to Amazon.com, to which I've signed up as an Associate Member. I signed up not to earn referral fees (that would be nice of course) but because I wanted to link readers to the bells and whistles that Amazon.com provides (the content pages, previews, reviews etc).

For my recent posts for the last few months, I've included direct links to the NLB catalogue (here's how you do it).

Here's a list of the stuff posted for May 05:

How to draw and sell comic strips for newspapers and comic books/ Alan McKenzie


The Reef/ Nora Roberts


Dreaming down under/ Edited by Jack Dann & Janeen Webb


Tag:book blog

How to participate in READ! Singapore (even if you are overseas)

This is a common question: "I'm interested in READ! Singapore, but how do I actually participate?" Here's what I tell people:

1. Get a few like-minded friends or colleagues together;
2. Pick on one of the 12 books to read and discuss (some people pick more);
3. Find a time to discuss (face-to-face, email, blog etc). Here's the discussion guides;
   
4. Take a picture or two of your session, with a short note of your main discussion and reflections. Email me. I'll get it posted in the library website.
   

If you are in Singapore and you can't find another person to discuss or to form a group, do contact your nearest public library and join the activities there. Too many to list here.

If you are overseas, like Loy (From a Singapore Angle), you can do what's he's planning to do!

You are not even required to read the entire book. Your group could agree on certain chapters to read, or read them aloud when you meet. My personal recommendation for the English books would be "To Kill A Mockingbird" and "Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime".

The first book is really great for sharing with younger children or teens, who may not be fully aware of issues like race relations, prejudice and discrimination. The second book is an easy read, and useful in getting a glimpse of how life as an autistic child might be.

I'd be grateful if you could help spread the word around.


Tag: readsingapore

Seiko Epson's flexible E-paper

Anyone else read this? Seiko Epson Develops 200 ppi Definition Flexible E-paper (Tech-On, 30 May 2005).

The display used an electrophoresis electronic paper developed by E Ink Corp. Seiko Epson "aims to commercialize the technology within 1-2 years" targeting such markets as handheld products.

I read it via Engadget -- interesting discussion in the blog as well. Apparently you can't fold the e-paper but you can roll it. And according to one comment, the advantage of the e-paper is in its low power consumption.

The E-paper reminds me of the technology that was used in The Minority Report, staring Tom Cruise.

(DVD is not available in NLB libraries yet, as of this post)

Btw, did you know the movie was based on the 1956 Philip K. Dick short story? Here are some links to items in NLB holdings:

• The minority report/ Philip K. Dick (New York: Pantheon Books, 2002)
• Minority report/ Philip K. Dick (London: Gollancz, 2002)
• The minority report and other classic stories/ Philip K. Dick (New York: Citadel Press, 2002)

Wonder what applications would the e-paper wind up eventually?

Tag:library technology

Friend of the Library (FOL) programme

Just read a BBC News article that says "... volunteering can be good for the CV, the waistline - even the love life." What a pitch: Improve your employability, your looks and your love life. Folks from the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) ought to adopt it as their tagline. :)

Which reminds me how many Singaporeans are not aware of NLB's Friend of the Library (FOL) programme. The FOL information is not on the NLB website, which is something that would be corrected in the near future... soon... if all goes according to plans...

I might as well use my lunch time to do a pitch for my colleague, Valerie, who works for the Community Partnerships & Outreach (CPO) office.

Typically, we have volunteers who tell stories, or keep the peace in the libraries, or attend to customers etc. We have an active group of Senior FOLs (retirees).

Students could help under the Ministry of Education Community Involvement Programme (CIP). Ok, I've read some student blogs out there who post that their CIP time in libraries are boring. I won't deny that, but reason is this -- most students can only commit to 6 hours. Most don't understand that library jobs can be complex and there are quality standards to follow (e.g. we have to ensure volunteer storytellers are trained also).

So unfortunately, we can only let them do shelving and shelf-reading. It's an important task, mind you, but admittedly not the most exciting. But hey, that's experiential learning for you.

The library also welcome ideas from volunteers about different ways they would want to serve the libraries & its users. My CPO colleagues would love to have a chat with you. At the time of this post, NLB is interested in setting up and running of Reading Clubs/ Groups.

BTW, some libraries overseas charge people a fee to join as a library volunteer! They are usually a semi-independent registered group, who will help raise funds for the library and run some library activities.


Tag: library volunteer