July 24, 2005
Crowds keep library staff busy...busy...busy
IT WAS like tidying up after thousands of guests.
HORDES OF PEOPLE visited the newly opened library (below right) to check out the environment and range of books. Many, like this man (above), spent the time acquainting themselves with the library's 134,000-item collection. -- NG SOR LUAN
Staff could not work fast enough to cope with the crowds which thronged the spanking new National Library in Victoria Street on its opening weekend.
Every hour, library assistants beavered away to rearrange returned books and comb shelves for displaced books.
'It's like a race against time,' said Mr Daniel Choy, manager of the Central Lending Library. Indeed, a staff member said about 33,000 people visited the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library while 12,500 roamed the Central Lending Library yesterday.
They were there to admire the photo exhibitions, borrow books or simply look around. Hundreds more went just to catch the performances at the plaza.
The $203 million building opened its doors on Friday, boasting a 134,000 item-collection and seven storeys of reference material.
Five times larger than its former Stamford Road facility, the library offers new self-help kiosks, wireless network services and even a climate-controlled room with materials dating back to 1577.
PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW
Anticipating the large crowds, eight extra staff members were brought in from other branches and 10 part-timers hired to assist the operations. An extra book checkout booth was also opened in addition to the self-checkout machines.
Despite the crowds, visitors were enjoying themselves as they settled on sofa seats or on the floor, reading with family or friends.
'I have been waiting for a long time for this library to open because I live in this area,' said Ms Rohini Shenoy, 25, who visits the Jurong and Tampines libraries. 'I hope I don't start coming every day.'
Cassandra Chew
