Small things, mostly |||

Libraries for community learning (Singapore)

I was at a library conference in Singapore at a panel about social media use by libraries. I argued that rather than just doing online stuff on Facebooks and Twitters, libraries could be a space that taps on the knowledge of the people in the city/community. I felt that just like everything else, there will be a target for social media and we will end up giving prizes for people posting picture, posing with books in hand.

Libraries have books, magazines, digital resources - knowledge created or curated by others, often from a different country. There is so much latent knowledge in people in the city - all their work, travel and life experiences. What if libraries could be such a space where people come and share these stories. And these could be linked back to the books and other resources in the library.

I believe that ordinary people find joy in sharing their stories, as it brings them satisfaction to have their knowledge recognized by the wider community.

Town library in Suva, Fiji. I like to visit libraries when I travel to some place.

BTW, it was nice to be invited but I don’t like panels. It’s a bit dull,

Up next The art of getting lost (Japan) An old raincoat won’t ever let you down (Singapore)
Latest posts Testing luggage trackers (Vietnam) A single unruly lock of hair (Singapore) The bookstore in Ginza (Japan) The dancer (Singapore) Bad decisions (Vietnam) Love is far away (Vietnam) Collecting Nostalgia and Tofu Nwe (Cambodia) Falling apart (Burma) Among the Kachin (Malaysia) The Vision (Japan) The shoe fixing man (Vietnam) The art of leaving notes (Singapore) Asia Overland, perhaps the best travel guide ever I love Lan Anh (Vietnam) Tibetan tea and Nur (China) The girl with the fixed lens camera (Thailand) A mischievous host (Cambodia) Please don’t hurry my order (Singapore) The old backpacker area of Bangkok (Thailand) Hand drawn maps (Sri Lanka) I love airports (Thailand) Food from Burma in Bangkok (Thailand) Apple shop names (Cambodia) A return to the North (Thailand) New Year’s Day (Japan) Million elephants and the fastest train (Laos) The neighbor (Vietnam) Alley kids in Vientiane (Laos) I love Hanoi, but only in the winters (Vietnam) A week in Mangalore (India) Other people’s lives in alleys (Vietnam)