List of Interviews

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  ANUAR, Hedwig (Mrs) @ Hedwig Elizabeth

  • Recording Date: 20/10/1998
  • Accession No: 002036
  • Reel No: 29 of 44

  A librarian for over three decades and pioneer of the National Library, Mrs Anuar was Director of the National Library from 1960 - 1961 and 1965 - 1988, and concurrently director of the National Archives and Records Centre from 1969-1978. Mrs Anuar discusses the National Library (NL)'s early efforts to promote the habit of reading to young Singaporeans. While not neglecting the older generation, the NL adopted a "children first" approach as students were regarded as the "future readers and users of the library". In line with this approach, talks were held in schools, Chambers of Commerce, associations, and the Teachers' Union. These outreach initiatives were well-received by many young Singaporeans as books were considered "a luxury" then which most parents could not afford. The NL also reached out to parents and teacher librarians to advise them on their selection of books for children. Mrs Anuar recalls this to be a challenge as many parents were averse to purchasing storybooks and preferred buying non-fiction and assessment books for their children instead. Fiction was generally deemed to be unimportant, unless they were "didactic" and told "highly moral stories".

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  ANUAR, Hedwig (Mrs) @ Hedwig Elizabeth

  • Recording Date: 30/10/1998
  • Accession No: 002036
  • Reel No: 33 of 44

  A librarian for over three decades and pioneer of the National Library, Mrs Anuar was Director of the National Library from 1960 - 1961 and 1965 - 1988, and concurrently director of the National Archives and Records Centre from 1969-1978. Mrs Anuar elaborates on the setting up of the Young People's Service (YPS) in the National Library (NL). The Service served to bridge the gap between the Children's and Adult's Sections of the NL. Mrs Anuar's sister, Mrs Smith, who had just returned from overseas was appointed "Coordinator of Young People's Services" and was responsible for the initial collection of books for young people. Activities organised by the YPS included debates, talks, poetry sessions and the setting up of a "young writers' group". The NL also ran a "National Reading Month" which saw different slogans such as "Bedtime is story time", "Read to your child" and "Tell a story to your child". The aim was to encourage parents to share more stories with their children and set them on the path of reading from an early age.

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  ANUAR, Hedwig (Mrs) @ Hedwig Elizabeth

  • Recording Date: 3/11/1998
  • Accession No: 002036
  • Reel No: 34 of 44

  A librarian for over three decades and pioneer of the National Library, Mrs Anuar was Director of the National Library from 1960 - 1961 and 1965 - 1988, and concurrently director of the National Archives and Records Centre from 1969-1978. Mrs Anuar explains the National Library (NL)'s book selection policies which she inherited from the previous administration. In order to reach a diverse reading population, factors including language, age and literacy level were considered. Mrs Anuar also highlights the importance of the children's collection as the student population swelled in the 1960s. As locally written books were scarce, the NL collaborated with the National Book Council to encourage more local writers, publishers and illustrators to create reading materials for the young.

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  ANUAR, Hedwig (Mrs) @ Hedwig Elizabeth

  • Recording Date: 3/11/1998
  • Accession No: 002036
  • Reel No: 35 of 44

  A librarian for over three decades and pioneer of the National Library, Mrs Anuar was Director of the National Library from 1960 - 1961 and 1965 - 1988, and concurrently director of the National Archives and Records Centre from 1969-1978. Mrs Anuar highlights some of the challenges during the 1960s, the early years of the National Library (NL). These included illiteracy and a lack of materials written in simpler language. Another issue which they faced was the lack of local books, particularly those for children and teenagers. Between 1964 and 1970, the NL focused on building up its infrastructure and manpower resources. It also sought to promote its services to children, piloting the Young People's Service in 1966. Also in this interview: armed robbery at NL and attempted blackmail in '63 and '70!

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  ANUAR, Hedwig (Mrs) @ Hedwig Elizabeth

  • Recording Date: 3/11/1998
  • Accession No: 002036
  • Reel No: 36 of 44

  A librarian for over three decades and pioneer of the National Library, Mrs Anuar was Director of the National Library from 1960 - 1961 and 1965 - 1988, and concurrently director of the National Archives and Records Centre from 1969-1978. Mrs Anuar describes the training offensive by the National Library and the Library Association of Singapore to upskill teacher librarians and promote the use of school libraries in the 1960s. Courses were held for teachers to learn about cataloguing, book selection and how to organize their school libraries in keeping with the school curriculum. Teachers were also taught how to promote the library through activities like quizzes, spelling exercises and other programmes. In the mid-1960s, the introduction of a new scheme of service led to the opening of more librarian posts across the government, including schools. As a result, more schools enjoyed an increase in the number of qualified librarians to run their libraries. However, this was mainly restricted to the junior colleges which were "the first [schools] to have full-time librarians" equipped with professional qualifications.

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  ANUAR, Hedwig (Mrs) @ Hedwig Elizabeth

  • Recording Date: 17/11/1998
  • Accession No: 002036
  • Reel No: 37 of 44

  A librarian for over three decades and pioneer of the National Library, Mrs Anuar was Director of the National Library from 1960 - 1961 and 1965 - 1988, and concurrently director of the National Archives and Records Centre from 1969-1978. Mrs Anuar talks about the early efforts of the National Library (NL) in supporting schools in rural areas by providing them with bulk loans during the 1960s. After the branch libraries were set up, each branch 'adopted' a number of schools. They offered books on topics outside the school curriculum. Librarians were often deployed to junior colleges near their homes depending on their interest, skills and experience.

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  BONG, Marie Ethel (Mrs)

  • Recording Date: 30/3/1993
  • Accession No: 001390
  • Reel No: 35 of 64

  Mrs. Marie Anthony Bong nee Marie Ethel Aroozoo, taught (1951) and later served as Principal of Katong Convent, a girls' school from 1971 to 1985. She was awarded the Efficiency Medal in 1979. Her father, Mr. Percival Frank Aroozoo, was the first Asian Principal of Gan Eng Seng School (1938-1955). Her younger sister, Miss Hedwig Elizabeth Aroozoo, was Director of the National Library of Singapore (May 1965-Nov 1988). Mrs Bong creatively promoted reading through fun activities. In 1969, Mrs Bong organized a library activity in Katong Convent School in conjunction with the 150th anniversary celebration of the founding of Singapore. It was a programme to introduce the student body to a few books, with some dramatization to bring the books to life. When she became principal of the school in 1972, the activity was formalized as Book Week, with activities such as reading diaries which the girls kept, a creative writing contest and talks by adults such as Professor Edwin Thumboo, who shared the books they had read in their childhood. The aim was to let the students see that the adults were committed to reading as well. Mrs Hedwig Anuar (Director of National Library), Mrs Bong's sister, opened one of the first Book Weeks.

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  MOSBERGEN, Rudy William

  • Recording Date: 27/3/1995
  • Accession No: 000510
  • Reel No: 34 of 53

  Mr Mosbergen is a career educator, teaching in St Joseph's Institution (1955-1960) and the Teachers' Training College (1961-1964) and serving as Principal at Swiss Cottage (1969-1975) and Raffles Junior College (1982-1987). He also served in the Ministry of Education as Deputy Director (Academic) in charge of Curriculum and Development from 1976-1980. When he was with Pasir Panjang Secondary School, Mr Mosbergen built up a library and started a reading programme. He would look for books that were easy to read for the students, to get them interested. And the reading programme bore fruit, as there was improvement in the students' grades in all subjects, including mathematics. He also developed a system to prevent the students from vandalising library books.

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  WAN Fook Weng

  • Recording Date: 30/9/1997
  • Accession No: 001949
  • Reel No: 8 of 20

  Mr Wan was educated in Anglo-Chinese School and after graduating from university, returned to teach at his alma mater from 1960-1984, before being appointed Vice-Principal in 1985 and subsequently Principal of Anglo-Chinese Junior College (1986-1997). When he was in ACS, students were encouraged to read the classics. Nowadays students read books only for their use, or because it is a prescribed textbook. When he was in upper primary, each class would have its own library. The boys found it interesting and fun to read and share what they had read. After buying a book and reading it, they would contribute it to the class library. "Today you find that the library book will disappear, the page will disappear, everything will disappear!"

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  PERUMBULAVIL, Vilasini (Mrs)

  • Recording Date: 10/10/2000
  • Accession No: 002437
  • Reel No: 9 of 26

  "Mrs P" as she was known, was co-ordinator of Children's Services at the National Library from 1970-80; and Head of the Central Lending Library, 1976-83; and Head (Asian Collection of Children's Books), National Library, 1984-91. Mrs P studied at the New Zealand Library School in the 1960s. Her favourite subject then was children's literature. From the Cataloguing Section, she was soon transferred to Children's Services to help alleviate a staff shortage. She rose to head of the section, where she served for about 10 years. Mrs P noted that Director of National Library, Hedwig Anuar accorded great importance to the Children's Service, as she believed that it is important to start children reading from young, providing a good foundation for future users of the library. Mrs Anuar's sister, Mrs Eleanor Smith helped librarians with the practice of book selection - previously blanket orders were made with publishers.

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  PERUMBULAVIL, Vilasini (Mrs)

  • Recording Date: 19/10/2000
  • Accession No: 002437
  • Reel No: 10 of 26

  "Mrs P" as she was known, was co-ordinator of Children's Services at the National Library from 1970-80; and Head of the Central Lending Library, 1976-83; and Head (Asian Collection of Children's Books), National Library, 1984-91. The National Book Development Council (NBDC) was set up soon after her return from New Zealand, with the intention of promoting reading as a family affair. The Library Association was also quite active then. Mrs P recalls activities organized by the Children's Service, such as a costume competition which saw participants dressed as various characters from children's books (much like cosplay competitions today!), and was a huge success. The Children's Service also had various outreach programmes, such as parents' workshops. Mrs P also pays tribute to National Library Director Mrs Hedwig Anuar. Mrs Anuar looked into all aspects of library services, and had a "broad vision of library services and she wasn't content to remain just as the Director of the National Library". Her efforts included exposing her librarians to their peers from different countries.

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  PERUMBULAVIL, Vilasini (Mrs)

  • Recording Date: 19/10/2000
  • Accession No: 002437
  • Reel No: 11 of 26

  "Mrs P" as she was known, was co-ordinator of Children's Services at the National Library from 1970-80; and Head of the Central Lending Library, 1976-83; and Head (Asian Collection of Children's Books), National Library, 1984-91. Mrs P recalls that there were not many successful local writers and illustrators for children's books. Of the local writers, she recalls Jessie Wee, author of Mooty books, and the Moongate collection of legends by Chia Hearn Chek, also made a splash. She makes the case that reading may be subjective - two children of the same age may be reading at different levels. The library tried to differentiate without stigmatising the less advanced readers. The National Library's de-emphasis of popular author Enid Blyton's books led many to think of the National Library as 'highbrow'.