When I used to live in Clementi, my parents would drive me to the Queenstown Library on Saturday afternoons. There I would get my fill of books. It was very much a ‘manual’ library. I had a paper membership card. Each book had a borrowing cards and a date due paper where the librarian would stamp the date I had to return the book.
Not that the date due mattered, I was usually done with my books in time for the following Saturday.
Those regular library visits ended when my family moved to Bishan. While the church we went to was near the Toa Payoh Library, I hardly went because it was closed on Sundays. And it felt very different. (This was before it was renovated. The renovated Toa Payoh Library is even more alien to me.) Queenstown Library - currently the oldest library still occupying its original building, if I am not mistaken - was cozy and comforting. I can’t explain why but that’s how it felt.
Why did I stop going to the library? Perhaps it was distance. Perhaps it was because it used to be a family thing. Perhaps because, when it happened, I didn’t like the ‘automatic’ library. Yes, tech-gadget-IT guy likes his libraries old-fashioned with high shelves that only the tallest adults can reach and books that have passed through the hands of many. Perhaps the Toa Payoh Library didn’t feel right.
It was with a sense of hesitancy that I visited the Bishan Community Library, which opened today.
It feels good. =)
The library is compact yet spacious. And it seems so despite the crowd. The collection is small, which is fine given the fact that it’s a community library serving a similarly small (but central) estate.
There are four levels - five if you include the basement - and makes terrific use of ambient light. Quite intelligently, the window facades of the front and rear of the library face north and south, therefore not getting too much direct sunlight. Excellent design!
I really like the little personal spaces. I bet they will always be filled. The ones facing J8 are a great: living reading advertisements. I wasn’t sure whether I could take photos in the library, so I didn’t.
There are a few books I’ve earmarked for reading. Today, I borrowed two books. I doubt I’ll be able to finish them by next Saturday but I may just pop in to browse anyway.
P.S. Ivan, the library was buzzing!
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The manager of BICL will be pleased to read your comments : ) BTW, I’d argue that the libraries today are no more or less “automatic” than the ones prior to implementation of IT. If you think about it, the self-service facilities mean you get to do more of what you want in the library (e.g. browse, read), rather than spend time queuing to return or borrow books.