SMU's Li Ka Shing Library Celebrates Its Official Opening Ruth A

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3-2006 SMU's Li Ka Shing Library celebrates its official opening Ruth A. Pagell Singapore Management University, [email protected]

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Citation Pagell, Ruth A.. SMU's Li Ka Shing Library celebrates its official opening. (2006). Access. . Research Collection Library. Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/library_research/3

This News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the SMU Libraries at Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Research Collection Library by an authorized administrator of Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University. For more information, please email [email protected]. ACCESS | Asia 's Newspaper on Electronic Information Product & Service Page 1 of 4

In this issue SMU's Li Ka Shing Library celebrates its official opening SMU's Li Ka Shing Library By Ruth A. Pagell celebrates its official opening Journal Supply Chain Efficiency Improvement Pilot It is not often that a city gets to celebrate the opening of two modern, exciting project gets underway new libraries located within blocks of each other within the same month. At the end of July 2005, the Li Ka Shing Library of the Singapore Management Exceptional growth from University opened its doors to its first group of students and faculty, a month northeast Asia in record year after ACCESS covered the soft opening of the National Library of Singapore, just a for international patent filings ten minute walk away. Both of these modern, innovative structures are within Mind the gap the heart of Singapore's Arts, Culture, Learning and Entertainment hub. Scientific literature offered free to developing countries While the SMU community has been using Open Access Archive for the library since it opened its doors for developing countries Summer Session at the end of July 2005, HighBeam Research expands 24 February 2006 marked the official premium content, makes 1.5 opening of the Li Ka Shing Library. To million articles free mark the occasion, Dr. Li Ka-shing and National Library launches Singapore's Minister Mentor Mr. Lee Kuan Trans Tasman Interloan Yew, attended the official opening Gateway ceremony at the library while later in the day, the library hosted an open house for Conferences, Courses & the library and information community in Exhibitions Singapore. Two Skylights offer natural lighting among the third to fifth levels Other News Before any furniture moved into the building, the 2nd floor of the library was used for the Appreciation Dinner on 3 June 2005 at which time the keys to the campus were ceremonially handed over by building contractor Obayashi Corporation to SMU chancellor Dr Richard Hu, SMU chairman Mr. Ho Kwon Ping, SMU President, Professor Howard Hunter and SMU Provost, Professor Tan Chin Tiong Library exterior The site proved so successful as a formal dinner space that it was used again for the As a new library in a very old profession, grand opening of the campus on 20 we face many challenges in meeting user January 2006, a function attended by needs. Therefore, the library's charge is to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The space provide access to information rather than was used yet again for the Official create large print collections. To Opening of the Li Ka Shing Library. It has accomplish this, we need to provide even recently been used for the campus- creative ways to connect our users to wide blood drive. Emptying the room of all resources, hire staff with subject expertise of its furniture provided the impetus to and other special functional skills, partner make changes to the study space. internally with other SMU departments that support technology, research and Level Three is the reference and research teaching and seek out libraries with whom area, with the Library's small print we can collaborate on reciprocal collection of periodicals, local company arrangements. annual reports, and reference materials. The focus of the area is the 20 computers Singapore Management University which house the special, in-house applications, such as Bloomberg and Singapore Management University was DataStream. Level Three also houses all library staff. The office area has natural conceived by the Singapore government in 1997 to be Singapore's third university. window lighting and a view facing south SMU's goal is to be different from the two toward Raffles Convention Centre, the Cathedral, and Suntec City in the distance. existing universities, the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Public seating on this and all the upper Nanyang Technical University (NTU), both floors is generally traditional, using long, in teaching style and fiscal organization. wired tables. However, there is a lounge area on the third floor and some additional In 1999, SMU signed a collaborative agreement with the Wharton School, soft seating interspersed. Levels Three to University of Pennsylvania to help create Five also house over 30 bookable project rooms, officially seating 3 to 6 students. an American style institution in Singapore. In addition to offering a versatile model of Level Four houses the slowly growing undergraduate business education, SMU collection of circulating print materials and has positioned itself to be a research as general computers in addition to individual carrel spaces for students looking for quiet well as a teaching university. SMU is also a privately run non-profit university, and spaces to study. its success has led to the impending

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privatization of the other two universities. The fifth level is a potpourri of spaces. A room previously designated as The SMU opened its doors to its first group of Reading Room, with a smaller, glassed about 300 students in 2000, in a inner reading room, leads to the balcony temporary location on the edge of the and has furniture that is easily movable. Bukit Timah campus. The campus had This has turned into a popular space for previously belonged to Raffles College, the campus wide events, such as book University of Malaya and the University of launches, talks with ministers, and Singapore, all predecessors of the National student sponsored performances. Also on University of Singapore. SMU took over this level is a library classroom for hands the Bukit Timah campus in 2001 and on instruction, with twenty computers, stayed there through June 2005 when it and seating for about 30. The room has moved into the city's Bras Basah area. state-of-the-art equipment, including Occupying a 4.5 hectare area, the new double screen projection, which is SMU campus has four schools: Lee Kong extremely useful for library training. This Chian School of Business, School of enables the trainer to project a PowerPoint Accountancy, School of Economics & and live research examples Social Sciences and the School of simultaneously, using either the web or Information Systems. The SMU the documents camera. community has about 3,800 students, 200 faculty and 250 administrative and The Center for Teaching and Learning, support staff. Plans are to grow to a which directs the course management maximum of 6,000 undergraduate software (WebCT) initiatives with faculty, students by 2010 and up to 2,000 is located on this floor along with the graduate students in the future. Each Course Support Services (course materials school has its own building and in the for students), which was recently middle is the Li Ka Shing Library. incorporated into library activities. The Center for Academic Computing, Plans for the new campus supporting individual faculty research using data, is also moving into the fifth Edward Cullinan Architects of the UK and level space. Having these faculty research KNTA Architects of Singapore won the bid, and teaching initiatives in the Library over 171 other firms, for the new creates a synergy among the academic Singapore Management University support services which should lead to an campus, which covered the five buildings improved infrastructure and service for on the Bras Basah campus in the Civic faculty research and teaching. District mentioned above. Cox Architects and Planners and DEG Architects designed the Administration Building, on the other side of Bras Basah, on the same block of Victoria Street as the National Library. The selection of architectural firms was by international competition. The competition conditions required all non-Singapore practices to team up with a local practice. The jury included Mr. Fumihiko Maki, a world-renowned architect and experienced

international competition juror, Winner of Students studying with their laptops the Pritzker Prize (1993) and numerous architecture awards, Principal, Maki & The four floors together comprise about Associates, Japan; Mr. O. Robert Simha, 11,000 square meters of space and about Director of Planning, Massachusetts 8,800 square meters of public space. Institute of Technology, USA; Associate Seating is currently for 1,200 students Professor Milton Tan, Head, School of and the library has been averaging more Architecture, National University of than that number per day since it opened. Singapore; and Mr. Ho Kwon Ping, Like all buildings on campus, SMU security Chairman, Singapore Management cards are required to both enter and leave University Board of Trustees. the library building.

All the campus buildings are wireless, although the library also has wired connections. The library is foregoing reconnecting the Ethernet ports in the new collaborative area to allow for more flexibility of the furniture. The library and the university also decided against creating either a computer lab or information commons within the library. All local students are strongly encouraged to have their own laptops and bringing them to campus. It is primarily the international degree and exchange students who use library computers Unveiling of Li ka Shing Foundation plaque regularly. While this decision was with Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and originally uncomfortable for someone like donor Dr. Li Ka-shing me who is used to a large information commons, there are certain advantages to The winning firms were appointed in maintaining a stable of only fifty December of 2000 with a completion date machines. of end of June 2005 for all the buildings to be open for the 2005 summer session. Library management The total cost for the buildings was SGD450 million. In September 1999, the National Library Board, NLB and SMU signed a All the Bras Basah buildings, including the memorandum of understanding for NLB to library, are designed on the same provide the management of library principles: services for SMU. The initial contract ran for five years during which time all library

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Connections to the historical buildings operations were outsourced to NLB. In surrounding the campus. This includes 2005, SMU hired a consultant to make the Singapore Art Museum and the recommendations about the library as it National Museum of Singapore which moved into its second five years and into form an axis across the Library balcony its new building. The recommendation was and the home of the Roman Catholic for SMU to hire its own University Archdiocese, the Cathedral of the Good Librarian. As a result of the consultant's Shepard. recommendation, I was hired by SMU last February and took over the University Open courtyards at street level, similar Librarian position in mid-June 2005. I in concept to the National Library found myself in the most enviable position Building, which allow for access across for a librarian; I was moving into a campus by the public. spacious, open, cheerful new building; I had not had to endure any of the inherent Landscaping at the concourse challenges of working with architects or (basement), street and balcony levels. builders; and the NLB staff had planned the entire migration. Sheltered courts, breezeways, overhanging facades and strengthened shading to improve microclimate conditions.

Similar look and feel of the buildings, with individual features to meet each one's unique needs.

There are also links to the city's master plan, including a new Bras Basah MRT station on the future Circle Line, which will connect at the concourse level under the Library. The concourse connects the Bras Basah buildings, and has a gym and other The author meets with the Dean of spaces for student activities, a Kopitiam Students and Director of Student Life (food court), other shops and some SMU office space. We are entering an interesting phase in library management. SMU has sole All the buildings are made of stone, glass authority for the library; however part of and metal, to give a sense of transparency the onsite staff is directly hired by SMU and activity in the city area. All the and part of the staff is seconded by NLB to buildings also have exterior hanging SMU, with the advice and consent of SMU. plants. During this transition period, both librarians and library workers could be Existing rain trees from Bras Basah Park employed by either organization. were removed during construction and However, from a workflow perspective, returned to campus sites, with additional and more importantly, a customer service trees added for shading. Saving the old perspective, we want our internal trees, one of which is 21 meters high, was organizational mix to be transparent to an important gesture to the community, our users. All librarians have a primary which was concerned about losing the park functional responsibility, such as area. The National Parks Board supported coordinator for instruction and training, SMU's efforts to preserve the trees. The systems development and coordination, west side of the Library faces the Campus circulation and customer service and Green and the trees. databases and licensing. However, they are all also expected to serve at our new SMU's library Information Services Desk (reference desk) and provide user orientation and From August 2000 until January 2002, the instruction. While this seems SMU library was housed in a building on commonplace in many libraries, these Evans Road, adjoining the Bukit Timah services had not been offered prior to the campus. It then moved into the library end of 2005 at SMU. We are building on the main campus, staying experimenting with migrating some of there until the end of June 2005. The NLB's offsite processes onsite and looking campus is being returned to the National to other third party vendors, primarily University of Singapore Law School and book jobbers, to offer some shelf-ready the Library will become the Law School services as well. The primary goal, for Library both SMU and NLB, is to find the processes and balance that will allow us to The new SMU Library is named after Hong become an excellent academic research Kong businessman Li Ka-shing, Chairman library. of Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited and Hutchison Whampoa Limited. The Li Ka The Library looks forward to its second Shing Foundation donated an endowment five years as a time to strengthen its to the library for collections and to the infrastructure and leverage its spacious University for scholarships. More building and central location on campus to information about the Li Ka Shing be the intellectual and learning centre for Foundation is available at their website. the University providing products and services that anticipate our user needs. The library includes four floors above Level With its central location in Singapore, it One. Level One serves as a public area, would like to become a major player in housing the Visitors' Centre and a few creating a cooperative reciprocal library eating and meeting areas. Level Two, the environment in Singapore. actual library entrance, has the Course Reserve area, a cafe, comfortable reading "I would like this library to be seen as the space and a large open area that is being intellectual hub and a centre for research converted into an experimental for faculty; as a place for students to collaborative work space. The library is come and collaborate." (MM Lee opens Li working with Philips Design to create an Ka Shing Library at SMU campus Channel area where students can work in NewsAsia February 24, 2006 Friday,

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collaborative groups late into the evening, available in LexisNexis and Factiva) when the upper level seating and project rooms are closed off. Ruth A. Pagell, is the University Librarian, Li Ka Shing Library, Singapore Management University and has been a valued contributor to ACCESS for many years.

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