My son and daugther remembered their happy days at SP’s Child Care Centre from 1993-1998. It was called the Experiential Learning Centre. They still talk about their Principal Peggy Zee, a favourite teacher, Geraldine Zuzarte and the fun learning they had at the Centre.

What was most memorable to the children and to me was the bonding times we had going together to SP in the morning, returning home in the evening, and chatting about things that had happened during the day.

Fang Sin Guek, Library staff

It’s not surprising that Mrs Rosemary Yeap has fond memories of the SP Library as this is the place where she once worked as Chief Librarian from 1961 to 1987.  Every time she comes to Singapore, she  makes it a point to see us at the Library. During her recent visit on 28 May 2012, she toured the new Da Vinci Floor and met library staff over tea.
(Note: Mouse over pictures to read captions.)

Reminiscing on her memories, she says: “I just love coming back to SP, so glad to be back, so many friends here. The old SP has changed so much, there are so many new buildings now. The campus is much more modern than before. Back in those days, we started out in the Prince Edward Campus, then we branched out to the Princess Mary Campus in 1970 and Ayer Rajah Campus in 1971 before finally moving to the Dover Road Campus in 1978/79.”

What do you remember during your time about your work and people in SP?

The major challenges then were staff training and professional development, building up a strong library collection, setting up the branch libraries at Princess Mary Campus and Ayer Rajah Campus, moving into the new library at Dover Road Campus and library computerisation.

We had a good budget and I enjoyed building up the library collection on architecture and engineering.  All the former SP Principals, Mr C I C Scollay, Mr Robert Edis, Mr V P M Ager and Dr Khoo Kay Chai were very supportive of the library. The lecturers, too, seemed to appreciate the library very much and assisted us in collection development.

We co-operated with the National Library Board (NLB) and other libraries in the professional development of librarians and staff training.  I enjoyed being a mentor and helping to train librarians from other libraries.  I remember Agnes Noronha, Librarian from the Housing & Development Board (HDB), who came to us for training. She now works at the Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia.

For our staff development programme, we sent our librarians for postgraduate courses in librarianship and information studies, mainly to USA, UK and Australia.  They included Ng Soo Kwee,  Jenny Neo, Wee Joo Gim, Yeoh Seok Kwan and Fang Sin Guek, among others who went on short courses and overseas library attachment programmes.

What are your impressions of the Library?

The Da Vinci Floor (Level 4) is very impressive. It is so functional, attractive and relaxing. The students and lecturers are so fortunate to have this space for their studies and work. I congratulate the staff on the library’s development.  I am very proud of my staff – they are very loyal and dedicated.

For those of us who knew Mrs Yeap, we’ll remember her as our  boss, mentor and friend.  Indeed she was instrumental in shaping our careers in the library profession. We are grateful for her many valuable contributions, enthusiasm, dedicated service and tireless energy in our library’s development and the library profession.  Our thanks to her for having laid a  solid foundation for our Library and blazing the trail for us to continue building on our strengths and service culture.

Mrs Yeap makes it customary to bring us chocolates whenever she visits us and to invite us to Sydney where she now lives.   All too soon  the lively chat with Library staff ended, and then it was time to leave for her next stop - the National University of  Singapore Library.  “It’s lovely to see you. Thank you everybody!”  said Mrs Yeap in her usual gracious manner as she smiled and waved us goodbye.

Yes, it’s wonderful to see you again, Mrs Yeap.  Thank you for the memories. Do come again!

By Mary Goh, Library staff

Post-note: A Reunion Lunch to Remember: Mrs Yeap attended a surprise  potluck lunch of local favourite food with former SP staff on 29 May at Irene Tham’s house.  Thanks to Mrs Margie Teo (former Chief Librarian) who  kindly got us together to celebrate this happy occasion.

It’s no wonder that Anchala Kumar, Library Clerical Support Officer, has worked in SP for nearly 23 years as she likes the educational environment and greenery of the campus.  She remembers seeing white parrots and squirrels on the trees near the Childcare Centre, where she had usually dropped off her young daughter before starting work. “The surroundings of the Childcare Centre reminded me somewhat of the early colonial days because of the old building and the mature trees,“ said Anchala.     

Anchala enjoys working in the Library

For Anchala the first 10 years of her working life from 1989 to 1998 were the most memorable ones because of the many activities that she had participated in. Way back then, she took part in poly activities as wide-ranging as she could.

They included a skit performance which she enjoyed “acting with Chia Wei Fun and Peggy Ngiam. The skit was written by Chng Suan Tze, a former lecturer from the English Language Department.“

Then she was active in the Work Improvement Team (WIT) , recalling that “the Library’s Bookworm Team won a Bronze Award in the WITs Competition held at the NPB (National Productivity Board). Fang Sin Guek was then the leader of the team and Mrs Margie Teo was the facilitator. “

Library's Bookworm Team (WIT): Left to right: Fong Lai Mei, Fang Sin Guek, Malar, Marjorie, Lum Oi Cheng, Anchala Kumar, Roseline Tan

She also found time to join the SP Staff Choir, “singing with Peggy Ngiam and the Choir also participated in the Statutory Boards’ Choir Competition.” 

More recently in 2010 she won the SP Green Buddy Award for her efforts in helping to green the Library’s courtyard with potted plants, which made the social space looking  more welcoming and refreshing with its neat row of various plants.

About her library work Anchala remembers vividly that “before PCs came into the workplace, we did carding, that is, typed out the order cards before we typed the order lists on old-fashioned typewriters. We got used to the noisy sound of the typewriters as well as having to align the order cards properly on the typewriter.  It was fun typing together with my colleagues as we rushed out those orders, and then when the new books arrived,  there was this sense of satisfaction in unpacking them onto trolleys.  We  also loaned out RBC (red-spot books) to the students when we sat at the Library Counter. They would borrow popular books like Perry’s Chemical Handbook and exam papers. “

On which colleague had impressed her while working here, she was quick to say that “when I first joined the Acquisitions Section, Charlotte Lim taught me how to look for bibliographic information from books. She was a good teacher. I felt that she was very thorough in the way she imparted knowledge to me.”

- Interviewed by Mary Goh, Library Staff

It is embarrassing to recall, but when I started work as a Librarian at the Singapore Polytechnic, I was rather ignorant about libraries. I was surprised that Librarians provided in-depth services like helping users search for information for their research and projects.

I also remember asking my first boss at that time, Mrs Fang Sin Guek, basic questions like, “what is the difference between a Reference book and a Lending book,” or “what is an index?” (She must have thought I had just arrived from another planet!)  She patiently answered all of my questions and introduced me to the fascinating world of information databases. Thanks to her, as well as Mrs Margie Teo, and many other colleagues’ patient coaching, I am still able to continue working as a Librarian today.

- By Koh Chern Chern, Manager, Cataloguing, Singapore Polytechnic Library

Chern co-ordinates initiatives for My SP Memory Project

The giants in my library world as I remember them from the early days of my acquaintance with librarians are Rosemary Yeap and Margie Teo.  I was inspired by Rosemary’s passion for the profession. Margie mentored me.  I learned the ropes from my seniors and admired how they loved their work. They were respected by many of us, the rookie librarians. Thankfully, they believed in us and patiently nurtured us to continue the work they started in building the Library. I fondly remember these two pioneers who have made a difference in our professional lives and built the strong foundation for our Library.

Fang Sin Guek (on left) with colleagues and her boss, Margie Teo (in red jacket)

Changing libraryscape

My memories of libraries consist of images such as date due stamps, catalogue cards, typewriters, menu-driven OPACs, BITNET, mini computers, Alta Vista, transparencies, slides, filmstrips, sound cassettes, video cassettes, diskettes, CD-ROMs, barcodes, etc.

One thing that has remained constant in the changing library scene is our team of service-oriented, adaptable and versatile librarians! We have outlasted the changes so far.  We must continue to transform our library to stay relevant in this new digital media age!

- By Fang Sin Guek, Director, Singapore Polytechnic Library

Note: mouse over the pictures to read the captions.

Former lecturer Dr Mak Fong Keng spent a year teaching in SP in the newly established Chemical Process Technology (CPT) Division at the Prince Edward Road campus. In this interview with SP Memory Team, she recalls the “good old days” and shares her “personal reflections and anecdotes on the early history of the poly.”

Left to right: Mak Fong Keng sharing her memories at the Colours Social Space with Koh Chern Chern, Wan Lye Tim, Library Director Fang Sin Guek & Mary Goh (not in picture)

“It was 1973. Among the small number of full-time diploma courses available was the Diploma in Chemical Process Technology. The successful applicants were generally given the course of their choice, although the intake was small. The students were of high calibre, attracted to a Polytechnic education as a viable alternative to the longer and costly university degree via the A-level.”"The courses were taught in one academic session – there were no semestral division, modules or electives; the one component of in-course assessment was the laboratory practicals and final examinations loomed large. In those days, some of the exam papers were scheduled in the evenings and held under a large and brightly-lit tent, resembling a pasar malam (night market) where everyone was engaged in some very serious transactions. The students were amenable and took it all in their stride. They have achieved much in their post-polytechnic careers and have made meaningful contributions to society.”

“Our teaching laboratories were located on the ground floor of one block assigned to CPT. As I recall, the Unit Operations Lab had no pilot plants to show, and no visitors from overseas came to see it. One canteen served the entire SP population, situated opposite the CPT laboratories and separated by a small volleyball court.”

“The standard of office accommodation for lecturers was accepted without feedback. Those were the shared-rooms on either side of a long, dark corridor where a single telephone was installed for common use. Very frequently, the ringing phone would be answered by a lecturer of the Marine Department, because it was located outside his door. It was protocol to call out the name of the staff wanted on the line.”

“The Chairman of the Board of SP was also the Chair of the Selection Interview for academic appointments. In my case, the Chair, being also the Chairman of SISIR, thought it a good idea to set up some R & D collaboration between the two institutions. Soon after, an R & D challenge came our way: What could be done to prevent the hot liquid-fuel from spilling onto the hand of the athlete bearing the torch at the opening ceremony of the SEAP Games? My colleague, Dr Ng Lay Har, an analytical chemist, gamely took on the problem, and was rewarded with a seat in the VIP stand.”

After her one-year stint, she set off on a “long sojourn overseas to Australia.” She returned to lecture in SP in 1986 when Khoo Kay Chai was the Principal. She was taken aback to find that her Division’s staff size has grown so large (70 staff members) with its hierarchical structure – something unheard of in a typical Chemical Engineering Department in Australia, where she had worked with at Queensland University.

In her time, the Diploma in Chemical Process Technology had an option in Process Engineering and Fong Keng was instrumental in putting together the course structure for a new Diploma in Chemical Engineering (initially called Process Engineering). Colleagues she fondly remembers included Ong Kim Lian, former Head of the Food Technology Option, Lee Hui Bee and Koh Chuan Aik. The latter two whom she described as her “pillars of support” had worked together with her, among others now retired, to enrol new students into the newly launched Process Engineering Diploma course during the Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE).

When asked what was the one thing in SP that won’t fade from her memory, she says without hesitation: “It is the Library where I find solace and retreat, and I love books. I had often used the study carrel in the Reference Section to write lecture notes and papers. I like reading science journals like Nature, Science and other biotech journals.“  Indeed her love for reading extended beyond her discipline to reading English essays and old classical literature like those of the Victorian era.

Fong Keng at her favourite study carrel in the Library.

And what was her greatest personal satisfaction teaching here? “The greatest satisfaction was in the successful outcome of the first two batches of chemical engineering graduates. It was a commitment when we launched the course, and to see them employed by the people you know, and getting good feedback from their employers, was very encouraging and enriching. Thereafter it was easy to obtain scholarships from industry for students studying chemical engineering. The scholarships were awarded on their performance in the second year. Each scholarship of about $3,000 was enough to pay the student’s school fees for the final year. Companies like Shell, Esso, Mobil and SRC, whom we knew through training work and R & D, were very supportive and that was very satisfying,” she recounts.

Soon 17 years of teaching slipped by and Fong Keng opted for early retirement in 2002 to embark on another sojourn for a “new outlook on life”, this time to pursue her love for “writing books with a purpose.” After churning out seven plays about women, she drew inspiration from the biblical characters and wrote a book, The Scarlet Thread, a collection of ten exposition essays in scriptural study.  “This accomplishment is the other break-through in my post-poly life,” she says happily as she presented us with complimentary copies of her book.

Fong Keng with Jennifer Gan at the Reference Section, Main Library

Come to the Library and you will see two beautiful pieces of Agate pottery displayed at the foyer. They are the creations of Lai Say Beng, Senior Lecturer in the School of Mathematics and Science (MS), whose passion for art is matched by his passion for teaching mathematics.

What started Say Beng on the path of teaching was the dedication of his lecturers who inspired him to teach.  One outstanding teacher whom he remembers dearly was the late Mrs Ow Ee Nah. She taught him Engineering Mathematics when he was a 2^nd year SP student in the Mechanical Engineering course.

“Mrs Ow had a great passion for teaching mathematics and she always wanted to do the best for her students. Although she was a strict lecturer, she was able to engage students with her interesting teaching style sprinkled with humour and story-telling. I find her to be a very caring lecturer, able to help students from all levels,” he recalls with fondness. Like Mrs Ow, Say Beng uses humour to help his students overcome their phobia of mathematics. “Humour is a powerful tool. When used appropriately, it can help students learn more effectively, more casually, so they would not feel so stressed up with the subject.”

As a student in SP, one of Say Beng’s favourite hangout places was Foodcourt 3 (formerly known as Canteen 3). Back then, students could get a good meal of rice with dishes for as cheap as a dollar.  During his time, there was no Internet, and so the Library was another place he often visited, going there to borrow books, relax and watch movies. He remembers Margie Teo who was the Library’s Deputy Director at that time. “She was very friendly and helpful, and she introduced me to some of the interesting library facilities such as the audio-visual corner.”

Proud to be an SP graduate, he affirms that “SP gives quality education. Our institution has very dedicated lecturers and very good curriculum. It’s a safe environment for students to study and live their three years of school in the campus.”

Armed with a Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Birmingham (UK) and having worked as a process engineer in Hewlett Packard (HP), Say Beng returned to SP as a lecturer in 1993 and has worked for 20 years since then. Interestingly, he chose to teach Engineering Mathematics as it is his strongest subject which he feels he would be best at teaching.  Thus he was a perfect fit for the job as the Mathematics and Science Department was looking for someone with an engineering background to help students relate mathematics to engineering.

Looking back through the years, Say Beng highlighted three  milestones among the several major milestones in his career.

Virtual College

“In 1995 I had the privilege to take part in the Virtual College (VC) project and the Library was one of the supporting Departments. Fang Sin Guek represented the Library in this project. With the emergence of the Internet age at that time, VC was the first big-scale e-learning project that SP embarked on. Only five modules were selected for the pilot run and mathematics (more specifically, the module Precalculus) was one of them. It was an exciting time for all of us. My role was to develop the e-learning package and implement the trials. As we crossed the millennium, e-Learning@SP evolved into other forms like learning management system (Blackboard) and mobile learning.”

Art@SP exhibition

“In 2004 the Art@SP exhibition was held to commemorate SP’s 50^th anniversary. I contributed my ceramic pieces, about 40 of them, to help raise funds for needy students. That was a big event in SP. It was impactful because of its focus to help needy students. During the opening ceremony, the then Minister of Information, Communications and the Arts Dr Lee Boon Yang presented one of my ceramic pieces to the Life Art Society. The public and poly staff came and bought the art pieces.”

Teaching Awards

“Then in 2007 I was awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award by former Principal Low Wong Fook. It is awarded to excellent teachers every year during the Excellence in Education and Teaching Convention (EETC) but you have to be nominated by your students.” For Say Beng, getting the award is “an affirmation that you have been doing a good job and your students and peers recognize your efforts, which is very heart-warming.” In 2008 he received the Journal of Teaching Award from Principal Tan Hang Cheong.

When asked what he finds most satisfying about teaching, he feels that “as a teacher, one of the greatest satisfaction I get is knowing that I am able to impact students’ lives. It’s gratifying to know that I had a part to play in what students go on to do after they leave SP, be it their further pursuit of excellence in the academic or work arena.”

Every decade of Say Beng’s teaching career holds significant memories for him:  “It seems that my academic and career paths have been intertwined quite interestingly with every decade of SP celebrating something. When I was a student here, SP celebrated our 30th Anniversary. When I returned to teach, it was SP’s 40^th Anniversary. In our 50^th Anniversary celebration, I helped  to raise funds for needy students through Art@SP, and now you are interviewing me for SP Memory to celebrate our 60^th Anniversary in 2014.”

One activity which Say Beng had enjoyed taking part (with the MS Team) was the Amazing Race at SP. “That was fun – we came in second once.  MS also coordinated a team which represented SP in a nation-wide competition participated by many of the well-known schools in Singapore. It was called Odyssey of the Mind in which students learn to be creative. We won a trophy for SP in 2007.”

On his peers, he says that he is “very blessed to have very caring colleagues. The culture in MS is like a family. There’s still this kampong spirit and people feel happy working here. MS is a very loving, caring and nurturing school.”

A passion for art

So what spurred his passion for art?  “I have always liked to create, although I wasn’t good at art in school. Somehow, I am drawn to beautiful things but I could not afford to buy them when I was young. I could only admire them from afar.  So it’s nice to know that I now have the opportunity to create interesting things out of clay. I picked up ceramic art from an art teacher,Jaqueline Low, way back in 2000 and am still attending ceramic classes regularly today,” he enthuses.

As a teacher, Say Beng does not see any divide between mathematics and art, but he sees “a lot of parallels between creating ceramic art forms and teaching Engineering Mathematics. You need both patience and creativity in art and a lot of practice to get it right. These qualities are also essential in teaching and handling students who come to us with varied learning abilities.”

 More recently, Say Beng has taken his love for art further afield.  He started exploring a new art form – modern batik cloth painting at Kamal’s Artshop in Goodman Arts Centre, something that he enjoys creating and keeps him going.

-          Interviewed by Mary Goh, SP Memory Team, Library

Celebrating the Library’s 50th Anniversary was one of the most memorable event in my career at SP. Past and present achievements were collapsed in moments of time as the video presentation played out the story of our history on 8 August 2008 during the celebration event held in the Vanda Room, Staff Centre.

As our Director Fang Sin Guek so aptly put it in her welcome address to the audience, it was a day to celebrate and thank  everyone who had contributed to our journey, including library staff and academic staff  who supported the library’s development in the SP

A time to honour and thank former Chief Librarian, Margie Teo, at the Library’s 50th Anniversary Celebration as she received a bouquet from Library Director Fang Sin Guek.

Our  former bosses, Rosemary Yeap and Margie Teo, will long be remembered as our mentors and outstanding leaders true to their calling, who set us on the path of excellence through their visionary leadership, passion and years of dedicated service.

On that momentous day, I felt grateful and proud to have been part of our history in the making. I have seen many developments and challenges that unfold over the years with the quickening pace of changes taking place to this very day.  Being involved as the Co-ordinator of the celebration made the event all the more meaningful for me, just as much as I had enjoyed working with the library staff.

Here are some pictures capturing the memorable occasion.

- by Mary Goh, SP Memory Team, Library Staff

Celebrating our 50th Anniversary (mouse over to read captions)