Our neighbouring country, Malaysia extended her arms to invite us to the Third International Conference on Libraries, Information and Society 2010 in Kuala Lumpur. To maximise our learning experience, LAS also planned three library visits for the thirteen of us. The Malaysian librarians greeted us with big warm smiles which made us feel just at home. Here are some highlights of the three libraries that we visited:

Bank Negara Malaysia, Knowledge Management Centre (KMC)

The Bank’s library was transformed into a Knowledge Management Centre (KMC) in 2004 to tie in with the Bank’s aim to be a knowledge-based organisation. Known as the “Knowledge Angels” by their colleagues, the librarians promote effective means of managing the Bank’s knowledge assets and also offer customised services such as “information analysis and packaging”. The setting of the KMC is designed to encourage sharing of knowledge, or as the Deputy Director of KMC, Encik Ghazali, termed as “knowledge accidents”. They provide free seating such as their “Hello Chairs” whereby one could just pull a chair and join a person or a group to engage in discussions. The centre also provides free coffee and tea in the Library!

National Library of Malaysia

The National Library of Malaysia has a very unique building that truly reflects the Malay culture. The design was inspired by traditional Malay headgear known as the tengkolok.

We were invited for lunch at their new building followed by a presentation by the Director General, Ybhg Dato’ Raslin. The Library has two well-known Malaysians as their Ambassadors – Actress Datuk Michelle Yeoh, Hollywood actress (James Bond, Tomorrow Never Dies) and the nation’s first astronaut, Datuk Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shuk. The ambassadors are involved in library campaigns to promote literacy especially in the rural areas of Malaysia.

The Library also collaborated with TV1, a local media channel, to produce a television programme entitled “Travelog”. It is a documentary on their exploration of bookstores and libraries in other countries, such as Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.

Petronas, Petroleum Resource Centre (PRC)

Before visiting the resource centre, the Head, Information Research and Reference Section, Encik Ibrahim, invited us up to the sky bridge that connects the Twin Towers. The bridge is located on the 41^st and 42^nd floor and is the highest two-storey bridge in the world! We were privileged to be invited to the 42^nd floor of the bridge as this level is not open to the public.

The Petroleum Resource Centre (PRC) underwent a major facelift to convert itself from a typical library space into a venue for exploration, discovery and sharing of ideas. They also personalised the names of the different sections of the library such as i-Zoom to refer to their new books display, i-Assist to refer to their information services desk and many other labels including i-Research and i-Xplore. We ended our trip at PRC by having tea alongside a networking session with the Persatuan Pustakawan Malaysia (PPM) Council.

Although it was just a short trip to KL, it was a pleasant learning experience that will leave a long-lasting impression.

Contributed by Norlisa Binte Othman