Moving On: library@orchard in transit

To be or not to be…

It’s been about 2 weeks since the library officially closed to the public, and today’s the last day that the bookdrops will be in operation (yes, sadly no more dropping off books at Orchard by the time Ngee Ann City closes tonight). I’ve got a bunch of tragic photos (the emptiness, the emptiness!) which I’ve yet to upload.

*points left* However the un-tragic poster pic in this post, comes from k5memo. (okok, the text has got a tinge of tragedy lah. )

So what’s been happening for the past 2 weeks? Staff and volunteers have been packingpackingpacking. Everything has to go somewhere, and the books were the 1st to go, by now most of them will be on the shelves of their new homes.

Currently, most of the shelves have been dismantled and all the equipment and furniture is in the midst of being transported to other branches as well. By next week, all the stuff that’s truckable would have left the library and soon we will too…

In the spirit of capturing the ephemeral and the lightness of beings, here’s a collection of links to the memories of the Moving On party as well as some reflections after. They come from: ex-staff, current staff, regulars, our citizen reporters, volunteers…

Happy reading!

Moving On: 30th Nov 2007
Cast no shadow, wheel no barrow by laichow (Youth.SG)
Lights Out by k5memo (aka Karen)
Bunnies are distracting by impulsive fool (aka Simin)
The End of a Chapter by chnrxn
library@orchard moves on by Ian Timothy
It’s a little late but… by Regina
Good bye Library@Orchard by Alice
Closure of library@orchard D-Day by the Rambling Librarian (aka Ivan)
Live blogging from library@orchard closing by Simply Jean
Closing of library@orchard by Yuhui
Library@Orchard is Moving On by Malcolm
Orc Lang Syne by luckypotter (aka Kenneth)
The Heart Never Lies by Jloe (aka Joel)
Library@Orchard by nurazreen
theres no space by NurAzreen (cousin of the above nurazreen!)
Back track to 30th November by la bibliothecaire
Death of a Library by Keviny
hmm.. by Claude
library@orchard… by Edric Hsu
Library@Orchard moves out of Ngee Ann City by Channel News Asia

The Aftermath:
A tribute to Library@Orchard by Aaron Tan
When the old national library closed… by mshow
Memories of library@orchard by wrkshy
Library@Orchard by classiclicious
Library at Orchard closes by e4saken (aka Gavilan)
A visit to Library@Orchard after its closure by Alice
~ by Audrey

- Posted by Jillian

Jillian: Olivia has sent us another guest post, this time on a programme she attended in November. Right now, the programme zone is filled with boxes, cartons, cabinets, and all sorts of barang-barangs, all waiting to go to their new homes in other libraries…

But here’s a snapshot of what it used to be. Enjoy! 

~* ~* ~*

24 November 2007
Moved by some Moving Images

On the way up to library@orchard…

W: Will the viewing be in a special room?

Me: It wasn’t mentioned. I think it might just be in the area next to the cafe.

W: I can’t imagine how they can do a film viewing session in an open space.

Me: There are usually some performances in that space. I’m not too sure either, it’s my first time.

W and I arrived to find a big crowd at the library on a Saturday afternoon to view 10 short films by 10 local film makers. It was interesting to watch what stories the film makers wanted to tell and how they presented their stories. I’m not a professional movie critic but I definitely enjoy a well-told story anytime.

Here is a pick of three of my favourite short films, in the order they were presented.

I was very amused by the comic sound effects used in Alaric Tay’s film ‘When We Were Bengs’. The film took on the theme of brotherhood in a fresh way. Like all siblings, Heng and Bee had their fair share of childish squabbles but they soon made up. The brothers bonded in touching moments of ice-cream sharing and para-para dancing with great gusto. There’s more information about this comedy here.

The director of  ‘Zo Gang’, Jacen Tan, cleverly used a typical morning of a Singaporean on his way to work to express some of the difficulties faced by film makers in Singapore. The dialogues in the film were peppered with familiar Singaporean lingo. It’s a film most Singaporeans can identify with. I also learnt a few basic things about film making. The trailer is available on here.

I was moved by Elgin Ho’s beautifully filmed and scripted ‘Nineteen Twenties’. He dedicated his film to those nineteen years of age, whom he believed will be stepping into a transition period in their twenties into adulthood. The good use of narration and music gave the film a natural story-telling feel. 

Elgin’s message ’If you listen with your heart, you will see what you hear’ was aptly portrayed in several scenes between the lead and his sister. It’s so true that as we grow older in a hectic city, we tend to neglect and be blind to the little things in life, e.g., birds chirping, leaves rustling in the wind, raindrops falling on rocks, and time spent with loved ones. Elgin’s film is available for viewing on YourFilm.SG.

I read that The Substation has been nurturing local film makers for 10 years. I applaud the film makers for their continued efforts to make good quality local productions. During the discussion at the end of the film presentation, Alaric Tay, Elgin Ho, Fai Rizal and Jacen Tan, shared about their passion for film making and their hopes for the Singapore film industry. 

Suffice to say that we have some talented film makers with unique stories to tell. I’m looking forward to many more local productions.

As mentioned there were some tech glitches wrt to the videos that were screened during last night’s Moving On event… but there’s always YouTube!

You are the One by Angela Jean (and friends):

Thank you Citizen Reporters! by Ivan Chew:

I [heart] library@orchard by Ivan Chew:

Read on for the lyrics to You are the One, the original song by lenniez that was used in the vid.

- Posted by Jillian
(more…)

In this post, we’re inviting all NLB staff, friends, members of public, random netizens to leave a farewell comment/gripe/wish/song dedication.

*Thanks Karen for dedicating Manhattan Skyline by the Kings of Convenience to us in the previous post!

- Posted by Jillian

- These words were left by one of our guests in our physical guestbook

Nope, I didn’t cry. Ivan says it’s because I have channelled it into being perfectionistically angsty about event tech hiccups. I think I’d feel better if I could just get rid of this feeling that I have but I don’t quite know how…

Maybe it’s because as part of the event organising team, I kept seeing the whole thing from a more detached perspective due to all the running around, answering queries, talking to guests etcetc. That I really didn’t have the time for my own goodbye.

Well, we will still be here packing all the stuff for about 2 weeks…

This isn’t a proper post-event roundup post, but just a few words to attempt to log how I feel at this moment.

Btw. we chose this song as our final song during the ceremony:

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you’ll wait for me
Hold me like you’ll never let me go

‘Cause I’m leaving on a jet plane
I don’t know when I’ll be back again
Oh, babe, I hate to go

Now the time has come to leave you
One more time, oh, let me kiss you
And close your eyes and I’ll be on my way

- Leaving on a Jet Plane, as sung by Chantal Kreviazuk

The crowd found it moving (teary eyes were spotted) and maybe the next time you hear it, you’ll think of us.

- Posted by Jillian