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Singapore History: Research & Resources

  1. Format: Seminars

This two-day course is intended as an introduction to handling Singapore reference enquiries or researchers new to Singapore history. The first day will be dedicated to an introduction to Singapore history and includes a visit to the National Museum Singapore’s History Gallery. With the background from day one, participants will be taken on a brief tour through the various sources of published information available on the second day with a focus on what types of information can be found in these sources and how to use them in your search for the forgotten.

 By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

  • List the broad sweep of Singapore history
  • Describe the history of LKCRL's collections with regards to Singapore history
  • Use the basic sources of Singapore history
  • Distinguish between primary and secondary sources
  • Assess the reliability of sources

(1) List basic sources(Turnbull, Buckley, Song Ong Siang, Singapore Encyclopedia etc) & their limitations
(a) overview of basic tools for People, Places, Events
(b) overview of key resources using layout of Singapore & SEA Collection including references to bibliographies, newspapers, digital resources, infopedia

(2) Outline of Singapore history@ Singapore History Museum

(3) History of LKCRL’s collections– highlights of
(a) 1823
(b) 1878 – 1941 (i.e. Logan/Rost, Raffles Collection, MBRAS)
(c) preservation during the war
(d) 1950s - separation of Raffles Museum/establishing National Library
(e) 1960s – SEA Room and its significance, LD (see below)
(f) 1995 – NLB and its goals
(g) 2005 – New National Library and its goals, Singapore and SEA Collection [Refer to bibliography of National Library listing for further readings]
- Legal Deposit (LD) – purpose of LD, its functions, print LD, electronic LD, accessibility
- Donor Collections - purpose of soliciting donations, importance of primary materials, significant donations made to date.

(4) Other Singapore collections including accessibility issues
(a) NUS (Singapore/Malaysia Collection)
(b) National Archives (records vs published)
(c) other institutions (eg. Religious bodies, clan associations)
(d) overseas institutions (ie US - CORMOSEA, UK – British Library, Netherlands (Leiden) – for East Indies)
(e) highlights of new collections ie Donor Collection and emphasis on Singapore heritage both published and records

Course Outline:
Day 1
AM: Singapore history in deeds and print
PM: A stroll through the Museum

Day 2
AM: A tour of history sources
PM: Using sources
PM: Reading between the lines: interpretations, biases and ‘facts’

Trainer’s profile:

A reference librarian with the National Library since 1996, Timothy Pwee has been doing reference training for the past decade in various topics on Singapore. Active in the heritage and natural history communities, he is a volunteer guide with the museum.

 

NLBA supports The Library Association of Singapore (LAS) Professional Development Scheme (PDS) and the PDS points apply.