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INTERVIEW ‘‘


Rob Green is Editor of Information Professional.


www.cilipconference.org.uk


[We] harness tech and digital to help our users to discover content and communities to give them joy and abilities.


Embracing technology to engage with communities


CILIP Conference Keynote, Chief Librarian and Chief Innovation Officer at the National Library Board of Singapore, Gene Tan, talks to Rob Green about how technology is helping to grow engagement. Building from the necessity of innovation during the COVID epidemic to a new landscape where digital and physical discovery is seamless.


THE National Library Board (NLB) of Singapore has responsibility for the coun- try’s public library services, its National Archives and its National Library. “As NLB’s Chief Librarian, (more on his role as Chief Innovation Officer later), Gene heads up an organisation that touches on millions of people’s lives every year – from research and government to reading and culture, NLB’s services reach an enviable percentage of Singapore’s population. Gene says: “We manage not only the public libraries but also the National Library and the National Archives. Col- lectively, we have reached between seven and eight in every 10 citizens in any given year – an amazing feat in terms of penetration and engagement. The National Library and National Archives are also key memory institutions taking care of our publish- ing heritage, and government and public records. They are both go-to sources for our historians, students and anyone interested in knowing more about Singapore, past, present and increasingly, the future.”


The success of NLB’s engagement is something Gene is rightly proud of, and his experience out- side of the library world gives a clue as to how that s uccess is achieved. He says: “I’ve been a librarian always, all my working life. But I also stepped out. As the Executive Director of the Singapore Bicentennial Office at the Prime Minister’s Office, I helmed the Singapore Bicentennial which commem-


16 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL


orated the 200th anniversary of Raffles’ arrival in Singapore in 1819, which marked the beginning of modern Singapore. I was also the Creative Director of the SG50 Exhibition: The Future of Us that cap- tured the hopes and dreams of Singaporeans. Both broke records for Singapore.”


Back with the NLB, Gene is able to draw on the organisation’s innovative past to help shape its future. He says digital services are “in our DNA,” explaining that successful implementation of tech- nology has to be user-focused.


“[We] harness tech and digital to help our users to discover content and communities to give them joy and abilities. And yet not so in-your-face that it takes over our services that are at the end of the day about engagement. It’s about facilitating our services to remove the pain and inconvenience so that our patrons get to what they need and want more seamlessly. After all, I remember the 1998 implementation of the world’s first electronic library management system at NLB using RFID for borrow- ing and returning of our materials.” Like many library services, the global pandemic signalled an opportunity for library services. Meas- ures to keep a safe distance from others helped to cement digital materials as go-to choice for many and public libraries in Singapore have been able to build on that.


“Our patrons have embraced it with the use of our digital materials increasing year on year especially


Summer 2025


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