Managing Universiti Sains Malaysia libraries 2.0: developing strategic leadership values for librarians

Leadership plays a very important role in managing an academic Library 2.0. Leaders must be provided with opportunities to learn manage libraries successfully congruent with the rapid changes in technologies. Future leaders must develop competencies and they should also have some familiarity with ways of developing competencies for dealing with the broad, new challenges that are part of leading in the strategic environment

International Students Friendly Library - Are We There Yet.

The number of international students attending universities in Malaysia particularly Universiti Sains Malaysia has been increasing steadily in recent years. This trend poses a challenge to the academic library in providing a high quality information services to meet the needs and expectations of students

Oral History Collections at Research University Libraries in Malaysia

Oral history has usually meant as an account of historical event, person or place, a first person memory of the past, by an eyewitness. It is considered as living memories which have great importance in the history of mankind. It has also become a key resource for reconstructing, recreating and recording past and present knowledge of society. Academic libraries have served as repositories for books and manuscripts that help in revealing the stories of world’s civilization for centuries. These civilizations have secured their history by training particular individuals to remember, to record and to pass the updated tradition on to the next generation orally. Sadly, much of our pasts, in terms of oral history, have not been preserved in academic libraries. Even though Malaysia was among the first country in Southeast Asia which have started oral history program in 1960s, activities on oral history conducted or collected by academic libraries in Malaysia appear to be vague. Over the years, various factors in library management have affected oral history activities and program and has brought it to a standstill

Pathfinder Koleksi Kaum Peranakan Asia Tenggara: Inisiatif Pengantarabangsaan

Kertas kerja ini akan menerangkan tentang inisiatif pengantarabangsaan Koleksi Kaum Peranakan Asia Tenggara melalui pathfinder series yang dilaksanakan oleh Perpustakaan USM. Pathfinder series atau panduan subjek dibina untuk Koleksi Kaum Peranakan Asia Tenggara yang mengandungi maklumat bagi bahan-bahan yang berkaitan dengan kaum Peranakan di Asia Tenggara khususnya Kaum Cina Peranakan, Kaum Jawi Peranakan, Kaum India Peranakan (Kaum Chetti) dan Kaum Siam Peranakan (Kaum Melayu Sam-Sam). Sejak sekian lama, para pustakawan telah menggunakan panduan subjek sebagai salah satu medium bagi membantu pelanggan Perpustakaan mengenalpasti dan mendapatkan pelbagai bahan sumber maklumat yang diperlukan bagi membantu pembelajaran, pengajaran dan penyelidikan. Selaras dengan perkembangan teknologi, Perpustakaan USM sebagai Sekretariat AUNILO (Libraries of ASEAN University Network) telah mengambil inisiatif untuk mewujudkan pathfinder atau panduan subjek atas talian bagi Koleksi Kaum Peranakan Asia Tenggara yang boleh dicapai secara maya

Coming home to Minden Barracks: Historical site at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)

The Minden Barracks was a military barracks located in the town of Gelugor in Northeast District of Penang Island, Malaysia. It was operational from 1939 to 1971 and the site has since been decommissioned to accommodate the main campus of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). It has been almost fifty years since the regiments left the place, however, the memories of staying in the area are still being reminisced by the residents, hence, representing a convergence of heritage tourism whereby travelling to the destination to experience the place and activities that realistically represent the stories and people of the past. This paper depicts the initiatives taken by the librarians from the Malaysiana and Archives Division of Universiti Sains Malaysia Library to learn about the historical background of the campus by tracking the information sharing of the previous residents of the barracks on the social media. It has led to an outcome of getting some information about how the place used to be and an organized event of Oral history with one of the former occupants who keep coming back to relive the memories of Minden Barracks, to feel the connection with the place, and to share stories and experiences of a place once called home to families and friends

Penukilan ilmu baharu melalui sejarah lisan

Oral history is an important method used to record events that a person has gone through. Historical records of an event can be completed through oral history since part of the information still resides in a person’s memory.Interview is one method that is used in oral history to collect information from an individual. The oral history interview scope covers all levels within a society in order to gain a new perspective on historical events.In 1982, Universiti Sains Malaysia formed the Committee on Oral History in order to gather information about the Japanese occupation in the northern areas of peninsular Malaysia.The committee members had historians as well a librarian for the University’s library. The librarian is responsible for the recordings and the transcriptions.The historical compilations that are kept in the Library can generate new knowledge. Therefore there should be a structured promotion plan. Technological developments can aid in the dissemination of the collection to a wider audience.This paper will explain the importance of oral history, background of the collection held in the USM Library and efforts undertaken to promote this information source as an important material for research on history in the near future

AUNILO Pathfinder: An Initiative in Promoting ASEAN Rare Collections

Librarians have been developing pathfinders as guide to resources for researchers to check and acquire various information resources needed to be used in learning, teaching and research. This paper would discuss the initiative taken by AUNILO (Libraries of ASEAN University Network) to create a pathfinder for rare collections and resources related to ASEAN which could be accessed online through AUNILO portal: http://aunilosec.org. AUNILO portal as a medium to share information about AUNILO and its activities will be the platform to promote and ensure the pathfinder listed could be accessed and benefitted by students and researchers inside and outside of ASEAN. The pathfinders linked in AUNILO portal are Kaum Peranakan Asia Tenggara (Peranakans), Lanna collection and .Mymanuskrip. Kaum Peranakan Asia Tenggara (Peranakans) consists of materials and documents related to the Peranakan people of Chinese, Jawi, Chetti and Sam-sam descendents developed by USM Library. Lanna collection consisting of materials about the Lanna people, their lifestyle and culture developed by Chiang Mai University Library while .Mymanuskrip developed by Universiti of Malaya has more than 179 titles of manuscripts in the archive. Pathfinders have enjoyed a particular niche and status in reference services and AUNILO is encouraging its members to showcase their online guides and to promote the ASEAN rare materials for research to the world

Khazanah Warisan Tempatan di Perpustakaan Hamzah Sendut, Universiti Sains Malaysia: Koleksi Kaum Peranakan Asia Tenggara

This paper will describe the process of collection development of Southeast Asia Peranakans in Malaysiana and Archives Division, Hamzah Sendut Library, Universiti Sains Malaysia. As a central repository of knowledge and information, the Library plays an important role in ensuring the preservation of materials which have traditional and local knowledge values. Collection development is a main activity in a library, therefore, the purpose and significance are also described in this paper. The collection development on South East Asia Peranakan involves the collection, storage, preservation and dissemination of information relating to the Peranakan people in Southeast Asia, particularly Chinese Peranakan, Jawi Peranakan, Peranakan Indians (The Chetti) and The Siam Peranakan (Malay Sam Sam). Initiatives that have been taken to realize the collection development of the Southeast Asia Peranakan will be described and explained in detail. In addition, the challenges and obstacles faced during the development process of this collection will also be clarified. This collection will give a specific disclosure of the existence of the Peranakan people, help track and preserve traditional heritage treasures so as not to be diminished by the passage of time. This collection can also be used as a reference to assist the teaching, learning and research of future generations. This effort could also be benchmarked for the development of special collectio

Oral history in USM library: supporting reference and research needs

Oral history has usually referred to as an account of historical event, person or place, a first person memory of the past, by an eyewitness. It is regarded as living memories which have great importance in the history of mankind. It has also become a key resource for reconstructing, recreating and recording past and present knowledge of society. Academic libraries have assisted as repositories for books and manuscripts that support in revealing the stories of world’s civilization for centuries. The compilation of oral history at the library could help in reference and research if only the effort to record, document, preserve and promote information resources are well planned. Current technology could be of great help to be utilized in relaying the access to the researchers. Through institutional repositories, the visibility of the information could be increased. This paper will explain the importance of oral history, the background of the collection at USM Library and the initiatives taken to promote it as the primary and reliable sources that could play a role in historical research activities in the future