Bedok Community Library, located at 21 Bedok North Street 1, Singapore 469659, was the sixth branch library built by the National Library Board. It was officially opened on 28 September 1985 by Professor S Jayakumar, Minister for Home Affairs, Second Minister for Law and MP for Bedok. It is currently one of the latest lifestyle libraries which has a health zone and an enhanced Malay language collection.
History
Foundation work for the Bedok Library started in September 1983 and was completed in December 1983. The $6.87 million library was headed by Mr Ramachandran, when it opened in September 1985. Twenty thousand people of all ages visited the new library on the first day it was opened.
The library had a collection of about 120,000 items which comprised of books, videotapes, compact discs and 200 periodicals. To enhance the efficiency of the library operations, the computerisation of the library circulation system began in all libraries in 1987. Bedok Library was fully computerised in January 1988. Card catalogues were replaced by the Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC). Readers were able to have online access to the library's catalogue by checking on the availability of books, checking of loan records and placing reservation.
On 1 September 1995, the library was renamed as the Bedok Community Library when the National Library became a Statutory Board. The library was closed for a major upgrading in January 2001 and was reopened on 18 November 2001 by Professor S. Jayakumar after a $4 million refurbishment. The manual system of issuing and collection books was replaced by automated self-check machines and book-drops.
Description
The Bedok Community Library, a three-storey building has a floor area of 5,088 sq m with a seating capacity of 500. It serves more that 200,000 residents in eight constituencies - Bedok, Changi, Changkat, Fengshan, Kaki Bukit, Kampong Chai Chee, Eunos and Tanah Merah. It has a collection of 200,000 print and 6,000 non-print materials, 16 multimedia stations, 15 catalogue stations and 6 borrowing stations.
On the first floor of the building is a healthzone corner equipped with machines for readers to check their blood pressure and exercise bikes . Telephones linked to Health Promotion Board's healthline were installed to allow readers to call for free health advice. A collection of 5,000 health publications, ranging from food and diseases, and aromatherapy are available for loan. Besides, there is a café serving snacks and drinks.
On the second floor is the Malay Library with a collection of 30,000 print and non-print Malays books on subjects ranging from folklore to science, the largest collection of Malay books amongst the branch libraries of the National Library Board. These new resources was set up to cater for the large Malay community in the Bedok area.
Reference books and books for loan are arranged in ten popular categories namely: Computers and IT; Business and Finance; Home and Garden; Cookery; Health and Fitness; Recreation; Pets and Animals; Arts; Travel Guides; and Family and Parenting.
On the third floor is the children's section with a collection of fiction and non-fiction books for loan. Books on family and parenting are placed in this section to cater to the reading needs for parents.
Author
Jenny Tien
References
National Library (1983). Annual Report (p. 7). Singapore: The Library.
(Call no.: RCLOS 027.55957 RLSAR)
National Library (1985). Annual Report (pp. 13, 15). Singapore: The Library.
(Call no.: RCLOS 027.55957 RLSAR)
National Library (1989). Annual Report (p. 22). Singapore: The Library.
(Call no.: RCLOS 027.55957 RLSAR)
Ong Sor Fern (2001, November 19). Fit for Reading; Lending By The Book. The Straits Times, Life!, pp. 1, 4, 5.
Workout at Bedok new library. (2001, November 19). The Straits Times, Home, p. 7.
Bedok Community Library. National Library Board. Retrieved December 24, 2004, from www.nlb.gov.sg/images/LibInfo-BECL.pdf
List of Images
National Library. (1983). Annual Report (p. 16). Singapore: The Library.
(Call no.: RSING 027.55957 RLSAR)
National Library. (1984). Annual Report (p. 13). Singapore: The Library.
(Call no.: RSING 027.55957 RLSAR)
National Library. (1985). Annual Report (p. 16). Singapore: The Library.
(Call no.: RSING 027.55957 RLSAR)
The information in this article is valid as at 2002 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.
