STUDY TRIP TO RUSSIA AND GREAT BRITAIN

The main purpose of my visits to the Russian State Library (RSL), School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), British Library's Oriental and India Office Collections, and the Brynmor Jones Library at the University of Hull was to explore and identify Southeast Asian related collections suitable for digitization. 

The National Library Board (NLB) of Singapore was especially interested in exploring areas of cooperation with the RSL, which would help to establish our position as the East-West arbitrage centre and information hub in the region. The National Library Board signed an MOU with RSL in March 1999. 

During the visit, we made preliminary assessments of items on Singapore and Southeast Asia to see if any were suitable for NLB's collection. The NLB planned to develop a unique Sing-ASEAN collection that would serve the regional and international needs of researchers and government bodies and to act as a "library of last resort" for information relating to Singapore and the ASEAN region. 

We also discussed with lecturers from the University of Hull on the possibility of buying services from NLB (e.g. an on-line reference service by NLB on Singapore related information for researchers in UK).

RUSSIAN STATE LIBRARY (RSL)

RSL is the national library of Russia. It is the largest library in the country and in Europe and the second largest in the world. The library houses a collection of 43 million items, including material written in dead languages dating back to the 6th century AD.
 
 
 

	Another rare manuscript  from RSL, a palm  leaf manuscript
A rare manuscript from the  Russian State Library  (RSL), with text  written in an  unidentified  language

Due to financial constraints, IT is not a feature of this huge Library. However, as a participant of UNESCO's Memory of the World program, it has digitized some of its 15th and 16th century heritage items and made them accessible on the World Wide Web. Among its many valuable collections are 70,000 volumes of Chinese block books dating back to the 8th century. Some of these are not even available in China. 

Despite being a closed access library, it receives 5,000 visitors and delivers 30,000 items for research and reference daily. Users must be over 18 years old and have to apply for a pass to use the Library. 

On the recreation side, we made a trip to the Kremlin to watch the Bolshoi performing the Swan Lake. We tasted Moscow nightlife when our Ambassador to Moscow Mark Hong invited us to dinner. We had the honour of meeting our roving Ambassador Haida Sithawalla, and the Indian High Commissioner Mohan Menon.

SOAS LIBRARY

Flying over to UK, we first visited the SOAS Library, which is designated to be a resource for information on Asia and Africa. Being an internationally renowned research institution, it receives numerous donations from organizations and private individuals including the Lee Foundation. 

An attraction was the approximately 20,000 published memoirs, histories, annual reports, missionary magazines, and translations. Some of these relate to missionary work in Singapore and Malaysia, trading companies with business in Singapore back in the 19 century.

ORIENTAL AND INDIA OFFICE COLLECTIONS (OOITA), BRITISH LIBRARY

View from the piazza of the British Library

My first impression of the British Library was that it resembled a traditional Chinese building with lots of red, pink, and green paint. A vast square greets you once you clear the narrow main gate. 

The OOITA is in-charged of collecting and providing access to materials relating to all the cultures of Asia and North Africa and the European interaction with them. Like RSL, it is a closed access Library. Users have to prove that they are bona fide researchers and have exhausted all other information venues before they are issued a pass to consult the materials.

Collections

The archives of the East India Company, which include literature and documents from Asia, are found here. This is the singularly the most comprehensive source of information on the history of British trade and government in South Asia and the neighboring areas, especially the Straits Settlements. There are also about 15,000 boxes and volumes of private papers of people who had either served or traveled in this region dating as far back as the 17th century. 

Interestingly, their map collection contains admiralty charts for waters and coasts, some of which were produced by James Horsburg. 

Among its digitization projects is one named "Turning the pages", which can be viewed in the Exhibition Galleries on the ground floor. The unique touch screen system simulates the action of turning pages of a book. It allows viewers to browse digitized versions of electronic facsimiles from four rare books: the Lindisfarne Gospels, the Diamond Sutra, the Codex Arundel, and the Sforza Hours.

HULL UNIVERSITY: BRYNMAR JONES LIBRARY

The Brynmor Jones Library is part of the Academic Services Directorate. It proudly displays its the Charter Mark award for service excellence in the public services sector in UK near the entrance. 

One surprise we had was the intelligent lighting system on the 4th floor where the Southeast Asian collection was kept. The relevant light came on when it detected a user near the particular shelf. 

It was exciting to visit its archives of the National Council for Civil Liberties to read the original letters by some Singaporeans in the 1950's.

CONCLUSION

This trip was an educational and culturally enriching. We returned to Singapore with many fond memories, tasks for action, and a larger circle of overseas friends.

by Lily Chow 
Reference Librarian 
National Library, Singapore