Gift Wrapping Ideas

The manner in which it is given is worth more than the gift.

---  Pierre Corneille

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I enjoy the gift wrapping process, as the effort is a way I convey my care and concern for the recipient.

To me, the way a gift is well wrapped makes it worth more than the actual cost of the item, as the recipient will feel it even before opening the presents!

Here is one wrapping idea I like to share. Those who enjoy the art of gift wrapping would find the following example not too difficult to create: 

For those who have attended my gift wrapping workshop, you would understand how easy it is to create the above gift bag, and cut out ladies' or gentlemen's collars to close the opening of the gift bag.  

Here are some enhancements and decorations you can add to the collars, simple yet pleasing to the eyes:

Just use any craft punch you can get from bookstore or craft shop and make the design on the collar, interlock it with a cut at each end.  I use the butterfly shape, as I like the "flying" idea.

With the shape cut-out, the beautiful collar is here to please you and the one who receives the gift.

Without the colourful card, it looks elegant as it is.  If you feel that it is a bit plain, you can tie a ribbon and secure the collar this way!

If you like to know the details of the courses on gift wrapping, click the labels or the tag "Gift wrapping" and read on... 

Occasionally, the card making workshop with pop-up ideas is run based on request. It is a stand alone course, like the gift wrapping workshop for organisation. 

It will be interesting to have a "2 in 1" workshop on "Card making and Gift Wrapping" and with something like the above in the workshop. If your organisation is interested, just email me and I will plan one for your group.

Gift wrapping ideas: sharing my joys in creating ...

Here are some of the photographs taken at the workshops etc ...:

The following works were created by the staff from Singapore Police Force, during the workshop at the HQ at Cantonment Road:

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This box of gift does not need a lot of wrapper to enhance the look.  The white wrapper I used is just to go over the original box cover and turns it into a lady's jacket with a outstanding paper bow in leave shape:

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You can add a red ribbon bow with a pearl to the white bow and change the look of wrapping:

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To bring out the Christmas mood, green and red bow is rather attractive too:

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For Christmas gift, ribbon rose in green looks elegant too:

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For other festive occasions, sending gifts with a flower arrangement, is a way to create double "happiness" for the recipients:

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If you use the bag ideas I shared in the workshop, and create the collar shapes with some decorations will definitely add more charm to the end results. 

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Sometimes, gift is part of the gift wrapping designs too!
 
You can show some of your gifts and use it as a decoration for your gift wrapping, like the way this butterfly brooch is being used:

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If the box in the gift is intended for a lady, just add a unique card with the profile of your recipient and use it as a gift card.

When you wrap the gift card with the gift, you may add a hand-made rose to it, it will be adorable:

Hope your like the above ideas!

Dexterine Ho Soo Miang

LAS WSQ Support Bibliographic Control Works (Jan 2015)

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN – LAS WSQ Support Bibliographic Control Works (Jan 2015)

Here is what I received from LAS last Friday:

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LAS is pleased to organize the another run of the LAS WSQ training for Support Bibliographic Control Works.

Details below:

Training:
Dates: 6 – 8 Jan 2015
Time: 09:00 AM – 05:00 PM daily
Venue: Training Room 2 (Level 5, Centre Wing) Nanyang Polytechnic Library (Getting to NYP Library)

Assessment:
Scheduled dates: 21 or 22 Jan 2015
Time: 1 hour 10 min per candidate on either one of the scheduled dates
Venue: (NTU Library Instructional Commons) or venues to be determined.
Course Fees: $495 (Gross)


REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN. Register at: http://www.las.org.sg/eforms/view.php?id=1442
This is one of the 5 competency based programmes at entry level which together form the WSQ Higher Certificate in Library and Information Services.

Important Note:
§ Upon successful registration for the training, you will receive a confirmation message & email.
§ The registration page will also display a message when the class is full. You will not be able to key in personal particulars when this happens.
§ The course fees are listed here.
§ On enrolment, you are deemed to have committed to both the training and proposed assessment dates.
§ Participants or institutions who wish to withdraw from an enrolled course must submit reason(s) in writing to las.tnd@gmail.com. Where notice of withdrawal is given before the start of the course, an administrative fee of $25 is payable to facilitate the withdrawal from the course.
§ Please view full Terms & Conditions for LAS WSQ Level 2 courses.

For more information on the module, please refer to the training page.
Registration will close with maximum of 17 participants.

Organized by:
LAS Training & Development Committee
===

If you are attending the course, see you on the first day of Training!

Dexterine Ho Soo Miang

How to wrap a book as present!

 

Christmas is a gift giving season, and I like to give friends and family members books I think they may like to read, as presents.

To match the Christmas theme, I use red colour graphic paper for one book, and white colour one for the other.

As both books are for my lady friends, I use lady's collar to decorate the top of the wrapping. 

To make the white one look more appealing, a paper rose from the same wrapper was made and added to the collar.  The little add on made it more feminine.

For the red one, I made a ribbon bow and sealed it with double sided tape, then attached it to the collar.

At our lunch gathering on 11 Dec, I was glad that both friends liked the wrapping design I created, and received it with a smile.  I do hope that they find the book a good read too! 

As they liked the design of this gift wrapping and did not like to unwrap it so soon, my advice to them:

Use a pair of scissors or a letter opener to open the bottom of the wrapping, then hold the item upright, with the force of gravity, the book will drop on the floor, or on their hand.  

They may display the gift wrapping design, and enjoy the reading before boxing day!

Have a Merry Christmas!

Dexterine Ho Soo Miang

Not to win the approval of everyone we meet

The sooner we accept the inevitable dilemma of not being able to win the approval of everyone we meet, the easier our lives will become.  

When you expect to be dished out your share of disapproval instead of struggling against this fact, you’ll develop a helpful perspective to assist your life journey. 

Rather than feeling rejected by disapproval, you can remind yourself, “Here it is again. That’s okay.”  

You can learn to be pleasantly surprised, even grateful when you receive the approval you’re hoping for.

---  Richard Carlson

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Richard Carlson (May 16, 1961 – December 13, 2006) was an American author, psychotherapist, and motivational speaker.

Library Display Ideas Pin Board

Pinterest is an online pinboard service I started to use since 2012 to pin ideas gathered from various internet resources.

For reader of this blog, "Library Display Ideas" pin board on Pinterest will help you to see an organized board on the topic and the sharing may help to generate a lot more creative things that could be applied in Library Display.

View the pictures and visit the links, you can get a lot of creative display ideas free from this web sites:
http://pinterest.com/dexterine/pins/

Other pin boards I like to recomment are:

http://pinterest.com/dawnkrause/library-display-ideas/

http://pinterest.com/rachelmoani/

http://pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=library+display

Pinterest is a free service and you may like to explore and learn to pin something and share with other!

Photos of workshops and selected participants' work

Here are some of the Photograph taken at the workshops etc ... :

Here are some display ideas and selected participants' work:

Gift wrapping ideas: NTU Library collection

Today, I revisited Lee Wee Nam Library in NTU after two full days of LAS/WSQ assessment at Instructional common, and was surprised to see that all the gift wrapping items I created years back were well kept and treasured by the staff.  

Since Christmas is coming, I took some photos at the end of the day, to share these gift wrapping ideas with readers of this blog.

Hope you like the various wrapping ideas and may I wish you a Merry Christmas! 

Festive Gift Wrapping Course: single session workshop

For organisations interested in a shorter version of the Gift Wrapping Course, I have the following 2-hour session to meet the needs.

Festive Gift Wrapping Course: single session workshop

* Duration of the workshop: 2 hours

* For a minimum of 20 participants

* $50 per participant

* Fee charged is inclusive of materials used in the course. Participants just need to bring their own scissors.

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Festive Gift Wrapping Couse: one single session workshop
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This 2-hour workshop will enable you to design your own gift wrap and learn the creative art of gift wrapping through innovative hands-on experience.

Not only that the gift wrapping ideas is interesting, innovative and creative, most of them are designed with Green thought in mind and they may be recycled!

*How to wrap gift in box shape: hands-on

*How to dress up your wine bottle: demo

*How to wrap soft toys or soft items without using boxes: hands-on

*How to make ribbon bows to enhance your gift wrapping: hands-on

*How to design gift wrapping that can be recycled and keep the world green

The course will be conducted at your club or organisation's premises:

2-hrs session for a group of 20 participants (Minimum)
Fee: $50 per participant (inclusive of all materials)

Additional participants will be charged at a rate of $50 per person

If the total number of participants is less than 20, the total fee for the 2-hour course for 20 participants will be charged if the club or organisation wishes to have the workshop conducted.  The class will be given 20 sets of materials which maybe used collectively.

Confirmation of class: one week before the actual date, with Booking fee of $250 (Will be counted as partial payment in advanced.)

Dexterine Ho Soo Miang
HP: 9660 4692
view my other blogs with the tag "Gift wrapping" through http://dexterine.blogspot.com/

email:
smho@e.ntu.edu.sg
dexterine@yahoo.com

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INNOvative HANDS-ON, INNOvative minds-on
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Similar workshops conducted:

Jurong Point Mall, at Learning Corner
on 8 Dec 2012, 2pm to 4pm
Organised by Jurong Point Realty Limited

Singapore Police Force, HQ at Cantonment
on 13 Dec 2012, 2.30pm to 5.30pm
for Police Welfare Division, Manpower Department

Notes: The above are similar sessions, i.e., 2 - 3 hours workshop. For every additional 30 minutes, the add-on fees is $10 per participant!
The workshop contents are tailored made to meet the requirement of the organization, and similar courses can be designed upon request.  Festive wrapping, like Valentine day gift wrapping designs, is available!

Odd Shape Items: How to wrap it

"How can I wrap odd shape items?"

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Friends and course participants always have the above problem to solve and find it a tough job in gift wrapping.

Sometimes, it may make them change their mind in the gift shopping process, and buy something that is easy to wrap instead of the gift that matches the choice of their heart.

The gift wrapping service provided during festive session can create a joyful gift giving experience. 

Hence, departmental store which provides gift wrapping service, especially during the Christmas season, does help to boost their business as shoppers will focus on shopping gifts and have the task of wrapping delegated to professional gift wrapping service.

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Now back to the Q and A:


"How can I wrap odd shape items?"  

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A simple solution most people used is to look for a box that can contain the item and wrap it like a box.  Departmental stores now turn it into a business, and gift boxes in various sizes are available for sale.

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I use this method too as it is the most convenient way!

I usually do not purchase gift boxes since I know how to make them myself.  It is not hard to make gift boxes if you have 100-120 g paper and some ready template to follow. Designs of boxes is available in books or Internet.  Google "gift boxes design", you will get lots of ideas for your applications.

I also recycle old boxes that serve the same purpose, or use nice shopping bags and convert them into boxes for wrapping.

To make the boxed gift more interesting,  I would suggest that you wrap the box with some add-on, and give some personal touch to the box shape. The add-on could also reflect or reveal the contents:

If your gift is for a lady or a teenage girl, you may like to make it lookfeminine. Here is an example, I use the box shape to create a lady's blouse and add a friendship knot below. 

To make it more attractive,  a handmade rose is placed on top of the collar and act like a brooch, which makes it looks interesting and appealing!

Here it is:

If the gift is for gift exchange party, gender neutral gift will be the usual choice.

Hence, wrapping the gift can be more straight forward, and here is one suggestion:

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"If I can not find a box, how can I wrap odd shape items?" 

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Sometime, t is hard to find boxes that match the shape of the gift. Problematic shape, like a soft toy, a pair of jeans or a key chain are common gifts that most people like to purchase.

I would suggest that you use gift wrapper to make a bag, which look like a shopping bag without the handle.  Leave more balance on top, so that you can create some design on top.

Here is one design for your considerations:

(Notes: The gift inside this "lady's shirt" wrapping is a scarf)

If the gift is for a gentleman, then, just make it gentleman-like for your collar design, and add a bow tie:

(Notes: the gift inside is a table tennis' bat)

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For soft items, you have to wrap them with tick wrapper, as the bag shape will then be able to stand on it own.  If you run out of wrapping paper, you can use drawing paper as an alternative.  The above gift is wrap with an A3 size white drawing paper.

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If you find it too troublesome to wrap gift with collar design, you can just fold the top of the paper bag and seal with tape, or add a ribbon bow to decorate it. The fold can be a straight fold or a V shape fold, and the seal can be colourful tape with design that you can purchase from the bookshop.

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Alternatively, if you do not like to seal with tapes, you can staple a rectangular gift tag or gift note to cover the folding too!

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There are many way to make the folding attractive:

*you can modify the rectangular gift tag add-on to Heart shape gift tag, use two-layer method and have red colour heart shape overlaying the green one... for Christmas mood!

* you can also cut-out the Christmas tree shape and make the rectangular shape a see through label add-on. Use the cut-out create a greeting card!

* you may cut-out shape of Christmas tree in different size with different colour paper and glue the center line, fold the paper to make it look 3D...

* you can use craft punch with any design you like to save time if you are in a hurry!

Alternative are endless and you will be amazed with the result.

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The above are some ideas I enjoy during Christmas and festive sessions all these year!

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With that, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!



Dexterine Ho Soo Miang

HP: 9660 4692 

view my other blogs through my profile at  

http://dexterine.blogspot.com/

Daily thought needs exercise too...

Whatever I shared here may sound familiar to you:

In my life journey, one of the biggest problems to better performance is the uncontrolled thought and feeling that block the flow in my daily works, especially worrying thoughts and depressive feeling.

I know that it is a waste of time and resources to dwell on unproductive thought and feeling, yet I just let my energy drain in these pointless loops sometimes.

Brain, like body, requires exercise to keep fit.

For our physical body, daily exercises will give us a good body shape. Hence, I take up yoga and try to build it into my daily routines.

For our mental health, good daily brain exercise, will create a routine mental loop that results in good mental habit and behaviour.  To make it work, I read newspapers and watch news everyday.  In addition, reading good books, doing art and craft or watercolour paintings make me feel great and stay in a positive mood.

By adding in physical and mental exercises, somehow the immune system is being set up to replace the worrying thoughts and depressive feeling.

That may explains why the current trends of taking up yoga and other forms of exercises are becoming popular now.

Likewise art courses in all forms are being subscribed to by many all over the world!

Dexterine Ho Soo Miang

Attitude, skills and knowledge

After years of teaching and training in Temasek Polytechnic, National Institute of Education and Library Association of Singapore (WDA courses) for various groups of students and course participants, I understand that learning can be a joyful or painful process for different learners.

If one is willing to learn, one will make the learning process a joyful experience. 

It is hard, sometimes even impossible, to force an unwilling learner to learn anything. When one is being forced to learn, the learning process is usually a painful one.

I enjoy learning new things. I find learning a joyful process, as I am able to learn things that interest me, most of the time. I also enjoy the process of sharing my learning through teaching.

Learners who set their mind in negative mode will find learning a painful process. They are not interested in the subject matter or not able to find meaning in learning the subject matter.

Hence, it is important to choose the subject of learning that match your interest, or give meaning to something that you need to master.

I enjoy training adult learners, as most of them are willing learners. Their interest makes training an interactive sharing session, and I learn a lot more from them.

I find that if learners are willing to learn something, they usually have some basic knowledge or keen interest on the subject matter.

This makes their learning flow with ease. Trainers likes me, is just the guide that provide them with directions and pointers. The process of their learning is similar to doing Soduko, they are able to find or discover something new from something they already know.

Acquiring new skills is just like creating a new building. It is like modelling using Lego sets.  If you have the essential blocks, the building block process will let you learn and master the new skills.

With the right attitude in learning, skills will be acquired and knowledge accumulated.

I refine my learning through teaching and training, and putting things into practice.

Practice makes perfect. For learner and trainer, if they like to perfect their skills, they need to have multiple practice.  Without practice, you cannot demonstrate your learning and refine it.

Once your skills are being refined by practice, you will transform your learning to a higher level--the master of special skills, who has a good knowledge of the skills set.

Through teaching, you share your learning journey and lead others to travel the same path. Knowledge is accumulated through understanding, and with lot of  practice on the subject matter.

With that, the learner will become a master, a teacher or a trainer.

It sounds easy, yet, it is a long journey!

If it is your interest, the long journey is an interesting one!


Dexterine Ho Soo Miang

Happiness is made, not found.

Happiness is made, not found.

- Wilson Kanadi
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The joy in my life journey is: to search for books to read and things to make or create.

I love reading, and I pursue the career in librarianship.

I enjoy arts and craft, hence I learn how to be innovative and how to translate my learning into courses that I conducted through INNO HANDS-ON from 1999 to 2014, the last fifteen years!

In addition, many of the part-time courses in Temesek Polytechnic (between 1998 and 2000), like the library displays ideas, pop-up book making, gift wrapping and bow making ideas, were the brain child of my interesting pursue in the process of teaching and training teachers and librarians.

Reading create joyful moments, and I like to be able to create books that give others the same joyful moment. Hence, the course of using newspaper clipping of a certain topic was created for the Temasek Polytechnic students in 1990's in the course called Recording and Transmission of Knowledge, and there after, translated to 3D and pop-up book making for other groups of learners.


I feel contented when I browse meaningful quotations and creative art and craft works via Google search.

Google always returns with thousands of great sites for you to explore. The joy of reading webpages is always exciting at the beginning, tiring at the end.

I like to read quotations that motivate people. In 2001 to 2007, when I conducted the Digital Literacy Skill course for the SM2/3 students, I asked them to create web pages, and added the quotation page as an optional page requirement.  Many students liked it and I hope this add-on gave them something to remember when they recall their time studying the NIE bridging course.

After finding a good quote, happiness is ignited at that moment.  After a while, the flame disappears. Live goes back to normal.

To extend the blissful moment, it is good to have the quotation copied down by hand, saved in e-copy, or shared by blogging.

We can spend all our lives, here and there, looking for happiness, we will never really find it.

Hence, we understand: 

Happiness is made, not found.

It is not outside of us. What is outside of us is not real­ly ours, and can be lost. What cannot be lost, does not get lost, if it is inside us.

That is why we are never really happy with what is outside of us, whether they are people or things.

So keep the joy within us and ride our life journey with it. To me, reading, arts and crafts has been and still is that joy.

What we can search via google, is the world outside us, what we can make or create, is from our mind, body and soul, it is the world inside us.

Now I  see the possibility of a new hobby in creating new joy and happiness in my journey ahead...

So, I hope to have the experience of joyful moments from time to time!

When I am able to learn and create something, I joy over it, and I truly understand this quotation by Wilson Kanadi:

Happiness is made, not found.



Dexterine Ho Soo Miang

INNO HANDS-ON

INNO HANDS-ON
Business Registration No. 52903124L

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Blk 81, Tiong Poh Road, #01-47
Singapore 160081
Tel: 9660 4692 (hp)
Fax: 6220 8387
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INNO HANDS-ON, a business name registered under Registry of Company and Business, Singapore from September 1999 to Sept 2014.

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What is INNO stand for?

INNO = INNOvative or INNOvation

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What is the philosophy behind INNO HANDS-ON?

"Tell me, and I'll forget. Show me, and I'll remember. Involve me, and I'll learn."

-- Marla Jones


Hence, our believe is:

INNOvative HANDS-ON, INNOvative minds-on.

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What is the main objective of the workshop run by INNO HANDS-ON ?

Unleashed your innovative ideas through INNOvative HANDS-ON!

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For more information about courses formally offered through INNO HANDS-ON

Contact : Ms Dexterine Ho Soo Miang

dexterine@yahoo.com
or
smho@e.ntu.edu.sg

HP: 9660 4692 

頭部，眼部，白內障按摩

能量點 頭部，眼部，白內障按摩
按摩講師 李琳 2014-07-19 于 華藏學苑

Teaching, doing and learning

Learning is finding out what you already know.  

Doing is demonstrating that you know it. 

Teaching is reminding others that they know it just as well as you.

---  Richard Bach

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I like to learn things and master them, and share my learning through teaching.  This quotation makes me understand my learning process, doing instinct and passions in teaching better.

It is impossible to force any unwilling learner to learn anything.  If one is willing to learn something, one already has some basic knowledge or keen interest of the subject matter.  

This makes learning flows with ease, and the process is just like doing Soduko, learning to develop something new from some you already know.  

It is like a process of finding something you already know through the building box process.

Yet without putting things into practice, you cannot demonstrate your learning and refine it.

Through teaching, you share your learning journey and lead others to travel the same path...

With that, leaner will become a teacher, and teacher is just a learner and a learner's guide...

Dexterine Ho Soo Miang

Volouteer work: Asian Festival of Children's Content (AFCC) 2014

I don't like work... but I like what is in work -- the chance to find yourself.

Your own reality -- for yourself, not for others -- which no other man can ever know.

-- Joseph Conrad

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 My experience of the five days volunteer work for Asian Festival of Children's Content (AFCC) 2014 was rewarding.

I do not like work, yet being volunteer, I can choose to enjoy something I like in work, and that make the volunteering work an opportunities for self discovery.

The rich contents in the Asian Festival of Children's Content (AFCC) 2014 is great for some one like me who enjoy children's content in general, and having the chance to see the changing landscape of the publishing world is something enlightening.

I do like to explore further into this areas of work and hope more learning opportunity will come my way in the future...

Dexterine Ho Soo Miang

Support Collection Maintenance Works on 6 – 7 May 2014

Just received the following course announcement from Library Association of Singapore (LAS):

 

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Dear LAS members,

 

LAS is pleased to organize the another run of the WSQ/LAS Level 2 training for Support  Collection Maintenance Works  on 6 – 7 May 2014.

 

This 2 day course will be held at Theatrette 2, NUS Central Library  (map).

 

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN. Register at: http://www.las.org.sg/eforms/view.php?id=43

 

This is one of the 5 competency based programmes at entry level which together form the WSQ Higher Certificate in Library and Information Services.

 

Important Note:

§  Upon successful registration for the training, you will receive a confirmation message & email.

§  The registration page will also display a message when the class is full. You will not be able to key in personal particulars when this happens.

§  The course fees are listed here.

§  On enrolment, you are deemed to have committed to both the training and proposed assessment dates.

§  Participants or institutions who wish to withdraw from an enrolled course must submit reason(s) in writing to las.tnd@gmail.com. Where notice of withdrawal is given before the start of the course, an administrative fee of $25 is payable to facilitate the withdrawal from the course.

§  Please view full Terms & Conditions for LAS WSQ Level 2 courses.

 

For more information on the module, please refer to the training page.

Registration will close with maximum of 17 registrants.

 

Organized by:

LAS Training & Development Committee

 

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IFLA BSLA March 2014

 Photo taken in Tamma Mini, Jarkata with participants from BLSA, 7 March 2014 

 

 

Building Strong Library Associations (BSLA) is a comprehensive programme offering a strategic and coordinated approach to capacity building and sustainability of library associations.

I am very grateful that this year I was supported by LAS (Library Association of Singapore) to attend the BSLA programme in Jarkata.

The IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations) BSLA programme benefits associations, libraries, and their communities. I am fortunate to be the only one representing the Library Association of Singapore to attend this workshop.

The Building Strong Library Associations programme, 4 to 7 March 2014, offered by IFLA consists of:

• A modular, customizable training package on library association development 
• IFLA's policy-based learning materials
• Mentoring and advice on forming partnerships
• Cross-association activities, to bring participants together
• An online platform to provide remote access to materials

During the four days workshop, training materials and activities were customized to meet the needs of different associations, different cultural, political and social conditions.

The programme is delivered by the Action for Development through Libraries (ALP) programme.

More details of the BSLA programme is available from:
http://www.ifla.org/bsla


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I enjoyed the four days intensive workshop and learned a lot from the workshop. The sharing among the host group from National Library Indonesia and other participants from the region were interactive and .nformative.

I arrived one day earlier and was invited to attend the pre-workshop meeting in the morning.  The meeting was running from 9am till 1.15pm.  Even I took the morning flight and left Singapore early in the morning, I only managed to check into the hotel (Sari Pan Pacific) around 10am, and with a quick transfer by taxi, I was with the group at around 11am.

We had a very nice Indonesian buffet lunch after the long meeting.  After some photo takings, we had a library tour of the National Library Indonesia.

I always enjoyed library tour. For this official tour, the things impressed me most were the extensive use of Book as an icon for library interior deco.  I see the creative thought of Indonesian librarians.  They translated the image of books into beautiful ornamental objects, like mural, sculptures and attractive library display works. 

The love of reading and book is shown everywhere!


Dexterine Ho Soo Miang