POSB Disappearing from Kim Seng Road

I was disappointed when I went back to the POSB (Post Office Saving Bank) and they were no longer available at Kim Seng Road, Tiong Bahru in Singapore around 2007.

Many things brought back lots of fond memories for me.

I remembered how much a part of life POSB was for me since I know how to save money by collecting stamps on the saving book.  I grow up with the "Thumb Print" Post Bank Saving Book.

Banking through POSB, the "Key" logo was in my childhood memory and I still remembered how much I enjoyed the coin saving experience.

Now the convenience of having the POSB within mins of walking distance is no longer available. Our POSB within Tiong Bahru Market vacinity is moved and relocate on Ground level at Tiong Bahru Plaza. 

I think most of the residents in Tiong Bahru Estate will miss it, especially the hawkers with a lot of cash to deposit daily will miss it even more!

Here is some backgroup on POSB I found on the web at http://www.getforme.com/Bankingfinance_POSBank.htm

=====
The history of the bank dates back to 1 January 1877. The British Government established the Post Office Savings Bank in the General Post Office Building in Raffles Place. In 1951, its number of depositors hit the 100 000th mark. It grew until its peak in 1955 and languished thereafter.

In the mid-sixties, the Post Office Savings Bank, as POSBank was then called, was part of the Postal Department.

It was Dr Goh Keng Swee, the then Minister for Finance, who helped to revitalise the bank. He saw the potential in tapping the national savings for the development of the infrastructure in Singapore.

On 1 January 1972, the Bank was made a Statutory Board, under the care of the Ministry of Communications. Its two principal functions under the Post Office Savings Bank Act of 1971 were:

1. To carry on the general business of a savings bank and to promote saving and encourage thrift
2. To mobilise domestic savings for the purpose of public development.

The Bank commissioned Mr William Lee to design its logo in 1972.

In 1974, responsibility for the Bank was transferred to the Ministry of Finance. In the same year, the Bank set up a subsidiary, Credit POSB Pte Ltd, to tap into the housing market.

In 1976, the number of accounts hit the one millionth mark. In the same year, deposits crossed the S$1 billion mark.

In 1980, it introduced the Passcard, and the Principal Branch. In 1981, its first Cash-On-Line ATM machine opened at Newton Branch.

In 1983, its eight-storey headquarters, POSBank Centre, at Bras Basah Road was completed.

In 1984, the Bank introduced its current account facility. In 1986, deposits crossed the S$10 billion mark.

It changed its name to POSBank in March 1990. In 1996, it won the National Productivity Award conferred by the National Productivity Board.

It introduced the Electronic Share Application to let its depositors apply for Initial Public Offering (IPO) shares.

In November 1998, it was acquired by DBS Bank.
=====
Source of above information: http://www.getforme.com/Bankingfinance_POSBank.htm


Dexterine Ho
Revised with Labels (Tags) and some new information on 30 Sept 2011

NTU Art, Design and Media Library

Today, LAS Programmes and Social Committee organised a visit the newly opened NTU Art, Design and Media Library, and I am lucky to be one of the participants.

Date : 13 Jul 2007(Friday)
Time: 2:00 pm
Meeting place: NTU Main Library - Lee Wee Nam Library

As an adjunct lecturer for NIE Digital Literacy Skill course for SM2 and SM3 group, I usually spent my between and after teaching hours at various libraries in NIE and NTU.

This newly opened NTU Art, Design and Media Library is my new "LOVE" as I enjoy the ambience and the creative art and design collections.

Nothing is more insightful than listening to the librarians' sharing on the concept and the establishment of the library.

I am glad to be the one of the lucky souls to view the library with a guided tour run by professional librarians from NTU library.

I was introducted to the zone concept within the open space and the use of colours to divide the section. I like the book display area near the entrance of the library as it make the library very inviting to new visitors!

Partition is not a practice in new library design and invisible wall zone is not visible for the "Blind Readers" who are not used to the new design concept.

I think users will learn along the way, and librarians who manage the library need to adapt and adopt a new mind set in the fast changing library landscape!

Dexterine Ho

Quotations on Creativity and Innovation

I enjoy reading quotations, esp those on creativity and innovation.
Here are some that inspire me:

*********************************************

TRUE Creativity and Innovation consists of
SEEING what everyone else has seen,
THINKING what no one else has thought, and
DOING what no one else has dared!"

Source:
Quantumbooks:
http://www.quantumbooks.com/Creativity.html

*********************************************

Creativity is largely discovery, a push into the unchartered and the unknown.

"Discovery consists of looking at the same thing as everyone else and thinking something different."

-- Albert Szent-Gyrgyi, Nobel Prize winner

*********************************************

"Questions are the creative acts of intelligence."

-- Frank Kingdomy

*********************************************

Innovation is more than a good idea.

Innovation is the process that takes an idea, improves it, develops it and implements it.

*********************************************

"The best way to predict the future is to invent it."

-- Alan Kay, A Fellow of Apple Computer

*********************************************

"Creative thinking ability facilitates the ability to realize innovations"

-- Emem Ite

*********************************************

"Every human being is a problem in search of a solution."

-- Ashley Montagu

*********************************************

"Imagination is the beginning of creation.
You imagine what you desire;
you will what you imagine;
and at last you create what you will."

-- George Bernard Shaw

*********************************************

"To make a great dream come true, you must first have a great dream."

-- Dr. Hans Selye

Source:
Innovation & Creativity Quotes
http://www.innovationtools.com/Quotes/Quotes.asp

*********************************************

I am Singaporean (IaS): see what people are saying right now on Technorati

9 Aug is our National Day! Being a Singaporean it is natural for me to search the Tag iamsingaporean on Technorati.

I am Singaporean (IaS): see what people are saying right now on Technorati
http://technorati.com/tag/iamsingaporean

Technorati Blog Directory use tagging method to index blogs on the same subject (tag).

Tag is similar to "Natural Language" in Indexing Term or "Identifier" in ERIC Thesaurus. Individual blogger may use any term(s) or phrase(s) to tag the posts. With the tag (category) created by the blogger, Technoratic is able to auto-classify and organize the posts.

Tags are not "Control vocabulary" hence you may find similar topic with different tags used in different blogs/postings:

Here are some examples:

search iamsingaporean in tags
108 posts tagged “iamsingaporean”
http://technorati.com/tag/iamsingaporean

search i am singaporean in tags
25 posts tagged “i am singaporean”
http://technorati.com/tag/i%20am%20singaporean

As most of the bloggers do not tag their posts, you will find many other blogs/ postings if you search the same term(s) or phrase(s) in Blog posts instead of tags.

For example:
search "I Am Singaporean" in blog posts
return with 31,335 results from all blogs
http://technorati.com/search/I%20Am%20Singaporeansearch

"IAmSingaporean" in blog posts
return with 106 results from all blogs
http://technorati.com/search/IAmSingaporean

The search results are the same even if you used Capitalise Words/Letters.

What is the learning here:

Tag is similar to subject heading in library book catalogues or online databases. Books in the libraries/databases can be searched using subject headings, yet not all the books available in the book shops or on the Internet can be searched that way.

Likewise, only those blogs that are tagged can be searched that way. To search using tags is more accurate in matching Topics of your choice. Nevertheless, if you do not wish to miss any posting, search alternate term(s) and phrase(s) in all blog posts too!

For a more comprehensive search, use the Advanced Search page at Technorati (http://technorati.com/search/) to search by Keyword, Website URL, or Tag. Just fill out only the fields you need and leave the rest blank.

Keyword Search Enter a word or a "phrase in quotes" to see all blog posts that contain your word or exact phrase.

URL Search Enter the URL of a website to see blogs that link to it and what they say.

Tag Search Enter a category like Sports or Books to see posts, photos, and links on that subject. Separate tags with "OR" to search multiple subjects.

Blog Directory Search Enter a category like Photography or Technology to see blogs about that topic.

Happy searching!

For beginners who like to learn more about blogging

For beginners who like to learn more about blogging may visit Mr Ivan Chew's blogcourse demo pages:

Links & References for LAS Blog course, Jul/ Aug 2006 (Part 1)
http://blogcoursedemo.blogspot.com/2006/07/links-references-for-las-blog-course.html

Links & References for LAS Blog course, Jul/ Aug 2006 (Part 2)
http://blogcoursedemo.blogspot.com/2006/07/links-references-for-las-blog-course_22.html

LAS (Library Association of Singapore) Jul/ Aug 2006 Blogging Course:

Blogs, Tagging, RSS, Podcasts: Heresay, Hype, and Hogwash?
An introduction to Blogs and related technologies, and its applications in libraries

Covered the followings:

1. "Blogs" in the Singapore context
2. Define & understand "blogging" terminologies
3. Examples of blogs in education and libraries
4. How does one create a blog? (Hands-on)
5. Introduction to blog-related resources for content creation and searching (RSS, flickr.com, podcasting, tagging/ folksonomy/ technorati.com, blog search engines etc)
6. Discussion of possible applications, legal and ethical issues in the context of libraries

For full details, please visit:
http://www.las.org.sg/calendar.htm#BLOGS1

Hungry Ghost Photography Exhibition

This morning I received an email invitation and would like to share with those who visit my blog:

Invitation to Hungry Ghosts
by David Barratt

Meet the Artist at the Opening Reception
Wednesday August 9, 2006 6pm-9pm

This exhibition is open to the public from Aug 9-23 2006
Tuesday-Saturday 12-7pm or any time by appointment

What an artist way to remember 2006 National Day Holiday!

About the Artist (Extracted from the invitation newsletter):

David Barratt, leading DJ and music composer from NY know about town in some of the city’s hottest nightclubs, as well as, in Hollywood has captured the Hungry Ghosts of Singapore with his camera.

Although David Barratt failed to comment about whether he used his music to lure these allusive creatures from their architectural hiding places, it is clear that his artistic beats played a role in his accomplishment.

In the Buddhist tradition, Hungry Ghosts are the spirits of greedy humans, who in the afterlife are forced to walk the earth with tiny mouths and huge empty stomachs – forever unable to satisfy their desires.

Barratt saw the flowering of a thousand skyscrapers across Asian city skylines as the new Hungry Ghosts, manufacturing endless desire which can never be fulfilled. He explores this modern manifestation of the ancient tradition in his series of digitally remixed photographs of the Singapore skyline.

The works, rich in color and grand in scale, capture Singapore striding into the 21st Century, whilst remaining deeply connected to its ancient folklore. The dance between the present and the ancient shows the familiar landscape of the city in a new light.

Barratt has also composed a series of musical works, exploring the thematic of the Hungry Ghost myth, as part of the gallery installation. The work takes traditional Malay, Chinese, Thai and Indian melodies, and combines them with powerful modern rhythms.

During the Hungry Ghost Festival Aug 9-23, 2006 David’s Ghosts will be on display at Blue 2 Green Gallery, 33 Everton Road in an exhibition open to the public from 12-7pm Tuesday- Saturday.

According to Christopher Palm, Managing Director of Blue 2 Green Gallery, the exhibition is a visual / audio celebration of the Hungry Ghost Festival and offers all an opportunity to appreciate these usually benevolent creatures and offer alms to ease their suffering in this world.


HUNGRY GHOST SERIES
(What David Barratt said in his own web page http://www.davidbarratt.com):

When I moved to Bangkok in late 2005 I was struck by dance between old and new ways. I was especially intrigued by the old folk tales of "Hungry Ghosts"; spirits who in their human lives were greedy, forced to walk the earth in their afterlife with tiny mouths and huge empty stomachs, never satisfying their desires.

Consumerism, growing at an astounding rate throughout Asia, may well be the central belief system at this time, pushing more ancient spiritual concerns to one side. The most obvious symbol of this is the flowering of a thousand skyscrapers across city skylines. These are the new "Hungry Ghosts" manufacturing endless desire which can never be fulfilled. The dance between the present and the ancient is the subject of the Hungry Ghost series.

David Barratt
========
=========
Email me your comments, if any to:

dexterine@yahoo.com

Thanks and Have an Artistic National Day Celebration!

Dexterine

Digital Literacy Skills

For Dexterine's NIE Digital Literacy Skills
teaching web site, visit

http://dexterine.tripod.com

Memories at Old Ford Factory

The LAS group who visited Memories at Old Ford Factory on 4 Jul 06

Second from the left: Dexterine Ho Soo Miang

Third from the right: Mr Pitt Kuan Wah , Director of National Archives of Singapore

The group from LAS was so honoured to be greeted and guided by Mr Pitt Kuan Wah, Director of National Archives of Singapore personally.

Mr Pitt shared with us the inside story of restoring the Old Factory, and his personal experience in perserving and presenting the old artifacts for this site. We benefited from his rich knowledge, valuable insight and in-depth sharing on the process of re-creating something from the past for the future generation.

For those who miss this tour, the following sites are good make-ups:

National Archives of Singapore - Memories at Old Ford Factory (MOFF) Website
http://www.s1942.org.sg/s1942/moff/

"Old Ford Motor Factory" from Wikepedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Ford_Motor_Factory


Here is some info I extracted from the Wikepedia:

"The factory is the site of the historic surrender of the British to the Japanese on 15 February 1942, at the end of the Battle of Singapore in World War II. It was here that the meeting between Lieutenant-General Arthur Ernest Percival and General Tomoyuki Yamashita was held and the surrender document signed. Then British Prime Minister Winston Churchill referred to that event as the "worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history"; it was also widely seen as a turning point for anti-colonialism in Southeast Asia."

...

"Behind the museum are tall condominium buildings and a transmission tower. The front of the museum features a Chinese calligraphy sculpture (和平 or Peace), storyboards that recounts the battles fought during the Malayan Campaign and history of Bukit Timah as well as a granite rock carved with a statement from a decree by Tang Taizong, urging visitors to 'Take History As A Lesson'."

"Memories at Old Ford Factory was officially opened by Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean on 16 February 2006. The museum had free admission during its first year of opening."

For more details, read the full text: "Old Ford Motor Factory" from Wikepedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Ford_Motor_Factory


Dexterine Ho

LAS Members' Day Trip to Kota Tinggi

LAS Members' Day Trip to Kota Tinggi

Organised by Programmes & Social Committee, Library Association of Singapore
Tour Leader: Ms Lau Siew Kheng, Chair, Programmes & Social Committee
Total No. of participants: 33 (LAS members and their family)

Date/Time of the event: 3 Jun 06, 8.30am - 9.30pm

Highlights:
*Shopping @ Johor Bahru Seafood
*Lunch @ Pengarang
*Dinner @ Kota Tinggi Orchid & Fruit Farms
*Visits @ Kota Tinggi after dinner: enjoy an evening cruise down Kota Tinggi River, welcomed by millions of fireflies!

Photos taken at Kota Tinggi Orchid & Fruit Farms

Charming Dragon fruit hanging on the branch

See the "loving couples" "enjoying" in the fruit farm!
(Caption and Photo: by courtesy of Ms Jennifer Kwong, NUS Library)

On the left: Christopher Lye (Mr Patrick Lye's son)

and on the right: Jessica Tay (Ms Jennifer Kwong's Daughter)

(Photo: by courtesy of Ms Jennifer Kwong, NUS Library)

A close look at the juicy Dragon fruit

(Photo: by courtesy of Ms Jennifer Kwong, NUS Library)

Tasting and enjoying the cooling Buah Kedongdong drink in the Shop

From Left to right: Dexterine Ho Soo Miang, Ng Chen Wee, Chong Yee Ming and Caroline Pang

Enjoying the Cooling Fruit Spa in the Shop

From Left to right: Caroline Pang, Dexterine Ho Soo Miang, Chong Yee Ming and Ng Chen Wee.

At the most cooling spot in the fruit shop

Left to right: Caroline Pang and her friend Aliena

Ms Caroline Pang said

"It is like Yang Ming Shan (Famous "Yang Ming" Mountain) in Taipei"

Yes! It is the Malaysia's version: just next to Kota Tinggi Water Fall

You need not pay for airfare to view it if you were to follow us on this trip!

In front of the "Yang Ming Shan" in our heart

From Left to right: Caroline Pang, Dexterine Ho Soo Miang, Chong Yee Ming and Ng Chen Wee

For the trip itself, how much it cost us?
*******************************************
Answer:
Fees (includes transport, lunch, dinner, boat trip, insurance) was:

Adult (LAS member) $50
Adult (non-LAS member) $60
Child (age 3-11) $40

Value for money!

Meeting points before our departure : MRT Lavender or MRT Marsiling

For those leaving from Lavender MRT, we were there at 7.45 am as our coach's departure time was 8.00 sharp.

For those who meet at the MRT Marsiling, they were there by 8.30am.

********************************************

Librarians always give clear instructions.

First start with Identifying the coach:

Coach colour: Blue

Coach license plate number: PA5410

Tour agent name: Superior Tour (Coach will also indicate).

Photo taken inside the Coach

In the Coach: First row: Dexterine Ho with Christopher Lye and Jessica Tay. Second row: Jessica Tay's Parents (Mr & Tay ? ?)

Jessica Tay and Christopher Lye harvesting Durian Mini from the fruit farm

First time to see Durians in miniature version!




Jessica Tay with double load of Durian Mini in her hands

Look how happy and joyful she is!

It is indeed a fruitful trip for her!

Here are some comments from the tour members:

From Ms Lau Siew Kheng:

"An interesting and relaxing trip. At the Desaru fruit centre, we saw the biggest mangoes ever, wondered if they were genetically altered !

Also, saw the unusual dragon fruit plant, it's like a cactus and we also had a chance to try the red variety - beetroot red and very sweet.

The highlight of the tour was of course the river cruise to see the millions of twinkling fireflies all along the river bank. It's like decorations on Christmas trees.

They were a beautiful sight and seems like a mirror image of the twinkling stars in the dark sky above us!

We also had a great time catching up with friends and colleagues and got to know their family members as well."

From Ms Lily Teo:

"The best happening for the whole trip is the fire-flies cruise. I have never seen such natural beautiful "Christmas trees" light up.

Highly recommended for anyone visiting Kota Tinggi not to miss this cruise. It really compensates for the held-up in traffic-jam for 3 hours and missing the waterfall visit."

From Ms Chong Yee Ming:

It was great, tiring but fun! The fruit farm and tidbits shop were both "delicious" and interesting - wish I had more time at the shopping centre!
Of course the highlight of the trip was the 'light-up' of the Johor River there at Kota Tinggi.

From all the tour members:

Thanks to Siew Kheng for the following thoughtful notes and reminders sent before the tour:

"As it is school holidays, long queues at Customs are expected and we want to be in JB as early as possible. Please remember to bring passports and water."

Many thanks again to Siew Kheng and Programmes & Social Committee, Library Association of Singapore for organising this trip!

Many thanks to all the tour members for making this trip fun, fruitful and enjoyable!

From,

Dexterine
on behalf of all the participants

The report is drafted by

Dexterine Ho

With contributions from other tour members

(June 11 to July 11 2006)

Email me if you have any add-on:

dexterine@yahoo.com

Flower Arrangement

I like to explore different way of flower arrangement when I have time to spare.
To make artificial flowers look lively, I use fresh leaves to enhance the look. Here are some examples:

A “light-hearted” write-up for LAS 50th Anniversary Souvenir publication

1955 --- 2005 = 50 years = LAS (Library Association of Singapore) in History



1955 --- 1980 = 25 years = LAS’s history unknown to Dexterine


1981 --- 2005 = 25 years = Dexterine’s information path experience


Figure 1: LAS (1955 to 2005) and Dexterine’s Information Path (1981 – 2005)

As I know little about LAS before 1981, I look forward to reading other senior librarians’ write-ups to fill my knowledge gap about the first 25 years of LAS history.

If you would though like to take a glimpse into some personal experiences of Singapore Librarians after 1981, just read on and travel down memory lane with Dexterine.

You may find some simple facts and views about librarians and the state of development of librarianship and our professional association …

Q1: Why Dexterine became a librarian?

Answer 1:
Teaching was her first career prospect and Librarianship, her second. Since she could not become a teacher in the 1980s, she chose to become a librarian. To her, Librarians and teachers are all helping others to share the fruits of knowledge.

As a picture speaks a thousand words, let’s look at her first step into Librarianship: Study in Library School abroad.


Photograph in 1981: As a Student in Library School

From left to right: Dexterine Ho, Ms Hayati, a Malaysian classmate and Ms Foo Yan Chuin in College of Librarianship, University of Wales, Aberystwyth in 1981


Q2: What is Dexterine doing now?

Answer 2.1:
Teaching the “Digital Literacy Skills” course for SM2/3 group in National Institute of Education (Since 2002)[1]. “Digital Literacy Skills” covers APA writing format, Powerpoint, mind mapping using Inspirations software, Internet and database searching as well as web page writing.[2] For a librarian, she is now a teacher too, thus fortunately blending her two career dreams.


Photograph in 2005: As a Lecturer (Teaching Digital Literacy Skills) in National Institute of Education (NIE)
From left to right: A group of SM3[3] students and Dexterine Ho in NIE campus, outside Lecture Hall 1 after their graduation ceremony in June 2005.

Answer 2.2:
Teaching Library and Classroom display courses (Since 1999) for Teacher and Student Librarians in Primary and Secondary Schools through INNO HANDS-ON (A business name registered in 1999)[4]. A few Librarians have dared to discover their entrepreneurial spirit and potential as consultants & independent “business people”. Dexterine too has found new innovative pathways using her experiences and capacities in different Singapore library settings.

Q3: What was Dexterine doing between now and then?

Answer 3.1:

NIE library: 1982 --- 1996

Photograph in 1995: With NIE colleagues

From left to right: Mrs Loo-Tan Wah Enn, Ms Chew-Lim Kwee Noi, Ms Chew-Ooi Lian Ping, Dexterine Ho, Ms Lam Siew Kim, Mrs Wong-Ko Yun Chin and Ms Yvonne Yin.
Photo taken outside a restaurant in Tiong Bahru Plaza.


Photograph in 2005: With some NIE and Ex-NIE colleagues 10 years later.

From left to right: Mrs Chew-Lim Kwee Noi, Mrs Wong-Ko Yun Chin, Ms Yvonne Yin and Dexterine Ho.

Photo taken in a restaurant at Lian Seah Street on 27 Aug 2005. Library colleagues now old friends and like family after 10 years.

Dexterine started as a cataloguer, then a serials librarian and finally became a reference librarian.

She also supervised the Reader Services unit in the 1990s, yet she enjoyed the job of Information retrieval most.

Performing and imparting the skills of searching to students and lecturers usually filled her days with  joys.

Connecting to LAS in the 1980’s

After joining LAS for three years, Dexterine was elected as a council member of LAS for 1985/86.

She also served as a committee member of the LAS Interact Committee and as the secretary of the LAS Committee on Library Automation (COLA).

After teaching the LAS postgraduate course in 1986, she used her earnings from Dialog database teaching courses and upgraded her LAS membership to become a life member. To her, paying $500[5] to be a life member in 1986 was just a simple act of returning what she gained from LAS to LAS.

Being a bit absent-minded, she is also glad to have one thing less to remember each year. Converting an ordinary membership to life membership was just like purchasing a turnkey system to automate house-keeping jobs in library management.

The job of renewing her membership through annual payment was eliminated and she could enjoy attending LAS activities without the worry of paying membership fees, each year after 1986.

One Interesting event in the 1980s:

If you are like Dexterine who was absent-minded enough to lose her passport, yet fortunate enough to have it picked up by a Singapore Immigration Officer, you may have the passport returned very promptly if your occupation is “Librarian.”

In the late1980’s, Dexterine accidentally dropped her passport in Changi Airport and returned home without realising her loss. Thanks to the excellent service of a reference librarian at the National Library, the immigration officer was able to contact her within a couple of days.

Dexterine was surprised to have her passport returned as she was not aware that she had lost it in the first place.

Other library and teaching works in between then and now:

Answer 3.2: Temasek Polytechnic: 1996 --- 2000

Answer 3.3: NTU Library: 2001 – 2003

Answer 3.4: Some teaching tasks in Ngee Ann Polytechnic and National Library Board Institute.

A personal endnote from Dexterine:

It is a joy to look back through old photographs and past events that reflect 25 years of my librarianship and information path in Singapore and overseas.

As I do not like to take up too much printed space in this publication (helping to save some trees in one way or another), I would like to invite you to continue your reading at http://dexterine.blogspot.com/.

If you would like to communicate with me, just email me at dexterine@yahoo.com or smho@pmail.ntu.edu.sg

I hope you enjoyed reading this light-hearted write-up and are encouraged to continue your journey in sharing the fruits of knowledge through librarianship and our related professional family.

Notes:

[1] Ho, Dexterine Soo Miang. (2005). “Reciprocal peer tutoring in a digital literacy skills course.” in Teaching English to Chinese ESL students: classroom practices. Edited by Kwah Poh Foong, Michael Vallance (pp 167-173). Singapore: Pearson.

[2] For more details, visit “Dexterine’s NIE teaching webpage” at http://www.geocities.com/dexterine/

[3] SM3 students are those who have completed their third year of Senior Middle 3 high school in China. The scholars are granted scholarships by Ministry of Education, Singapore to study for their undergraduate degrees in Nanyang Technological University. They have to complete a six month Communication Skills Programme in NIE before they start their first year university course.

[4] INNO HANDS-ON stands for INNOvative HANDS-ON. Dexterine believes that with hands-on experience, one will discover innovative ways of doing information work. “INNOvative HANDS-ON, turns Innovative minds-on.” For more details, visit the web page at http://home.pacific.net.sg/~dexterine/

[5] In 1986, the annual LAS membership fee was $40 for all professional librarians. $500 Life membership was a big commitment for most Assistant Librarians since their salaries were just a few times more than that amount.

LAS PPM at KL, 6-8th April 2005

Photo taken at the dinner on 7th April 2005

From Left to right: First Lady: Name unknown, Ms Jean Koh Ping Hoon, Dexterine Ho Soo Miang, Ms Koh Hwee Keng, Ms Tan Wah Enn, Ms Lina Wang

PPM/LAS Commemorative Conference 2005
6-8th April 2005
Venue:Istana Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

With the LITA's kind sponsership, I attended PPM/LAS Commemorative Conference 2005 in KL.

On the last day of the conference, Ms Tan Wah Enn (Second one from the right) and me managed to visit the land mark of KL, The Twin Tower.

It was quite an unexpercted experience as we were told in the queue for tickets that all morning tickets were issued and we have to join the afternoon tour.

Since we are leaving for Singapore at 1 pm, we were quite disappointed to miss the chance of viewing KL from the Twin Tower.

I insisted that we wait till 11 am for vacant slot in case others who hold the ticket yet did not show up for their tour.

In between waiting hours, we view the gallery in the PETRONAS Twin Towers and check with the security guard every five to ten minutes.

I think we are so keen to visit the tower that our desire win the sympathy of the guards and we are invited to join the free tour of PETRONAS Twin Towers around 10 am when they found some empty slots in the lift not taken by ticket holders.

Wah Enn were amused and delighted to have the wish of free tour fulfilled and it become our fond memory of 2005 Kuala Lumpur LAS/PPM conference.

We may forget all the interesting and informative conference papers, yet the thrilling experience of visiting the PETRONAS Twin Towers KL is always in our sweet memory!

For those who like to view Twin Towers on the web, here is the link!
The PETRONAS Twin Towers Official Website
http://www.petronastwintowers.com.my/internet/pett/pettweb.nsf/flash_intro?OpenPage

Cheers!

Dexterine Ho

Photo sessions After LITA(S) EGM 2005 JULY 22

Before calling it a night, we have some photos taken in Hyatt Hotel.

From Left to right:
Ms Dexterine Ho Soo Miang, Mr Koh Yeow Siah, Mr Goh Chye Tee, Mr Foo Kok Pheow, Mr Lim Hong Too, Mrs Wong-Yip Chin Choo, Mrs Puah Boon Nia, Mrs Hazel Ma & Ms Goh Su Nee





















With Mr Lim's suggestion: we turn around and have a new post to include the STONES!

Photos with the real, big and heavy STONES

From Left to right:
Ms Goh Su Nee, Mrs Hazel Ma, Mrs Puah Boon Nia, Mrs Wong-Yip Chin Choo, Mr Lim Hong Too, Mr Foo Kok Pheow, Mr Goh Chye Tee, Mr Koh Yeow Siah & Ms Dexterine Ho Soo Miang

















Notes: Some of the above LITA members are also members of LAS (Library Association of Singapore)

LITA(S) EGM 2005 JULY 22

Library and Information Technology (Singapore)
LITA(S) EGM 2005

Time and Date: 6.30pm, on 22nd July 2005
Venue: Straits Kitchen, Hyatt Hotel Singapore

From left to right
Standing up: Mr Akbar Hakim, Mrs Wong-Yip Chin Choo, Ms Dexterine Ho Soo Miang & Mr Koh Yeow Siah
Sitting down: Ms Goh Su Nee, Mr Lim Hong Too, Mr Foo Kok Pheow, Mrs Hazel Ma & Mrs Puah Boon Nia


Notes: Some of the above LITA members are also members of LAS (Library Association of Singapore)