List of Interviews

• 

  ANUAR, Hedwig Elizabeth nee Aroozoo

  • Recording Date: 20/10/1998
  • Accession No: 002036
  • Reel No: 29

  A librarian for over three decades, Mrs Anuar saw the growth of the library from its very beginnings as a national institution, serving as Director from 1960 to 1961 and again from 1965 to 1988.

  Mrs Anuar explains the Library’s early focus on children, the “future users of the library”, given the low literacy rates especially among the older sections of the population. At 17:05, she talks about the Colombo Plan and the staff heading to New Zealand on scholarship, and later, on complaints about empty shelves in the new library!

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  ANUAR, Hedwig Elizabeth nee Aroozoo

  • Recording Date: 30/10/1998
  • Accession No: 002036
  • Reel No: 31

  A librarian for over three decades, Mrs Anuar saw the growth of the library from its very beginnings as a national institution, serving as Director from 1960 to 1961 and again from 1965 to 1988.

  Mrs Anuar talks about how the Library handled public discontentment with the shortage of vernacular books – the non-English collection only began growing in the 1950s even though the library was set up in 1823! She also mentions the important role of a UNESCO seminar in overcoming the initial lack of non-English books (27:43).

• 

  CHAN Thye Seng 曾太成

  • Recording Date: 3/5/2000
  • Accession No: 002265
  • Reel No: 6

  As one of the earliest librarians sent to study in New Zealand under the Colombo Plan, Mr Chan shares a little more about the scholarship provided and his time there.

• 

  CHAN Thye Seng 曾太成

  • Recording Date: 10/5/2000
  • Accession No: 002265
  • Reel No: 10

  Listen to Mr Chan describe one of the library officers sent under the Colombo Plan, Priscilla Taylor.

• 

  CHAN Thye Seng 曾太成

  • Recording Date: 12/7/2000
  • Accession No: 002265
  • Reel No: 11

  Here, Mr Chan talks about how Ms Taylor’s fervor for public relations helped to expand the library, as well as her plans for career and reward schemes for the staff. At 13:46, Mr Chan discusses the origins of the Library Association of Singapore, which he described as a kind of think tank for free discussion on how libraries can move forward.

• 

  CHAN Thye Seng 曾太成

  • Recording Date: 12/7/2000
  • Accession No: 002265
  • Reel No: 12

  Mr Chan talks about the importance of attending conferences and connecting with other librarians both professionally and personally.

• 

  PERUMBULAVIL, Vilasini (Mrs)

  • Recording Date: 11/1/2001
  • Accession No: 002437
  • Reel No: 20

  “Mrs P”, as she was known, was co-ordinator of Children’s Services at the National Library during its early years from 1970-1980.

  Mrs P describes Hedwig Anuar’s outreach to librarians across ASEAN. Through the Library’s connections, she “realized how much library work depends on collaboration.”