Alice Cheong

Today, I am generously invited by the library manager to the exclusive library@orchard Christmas celebration. It is also the last day of library@orchard for everything to be cleared out.

9:30am: (Received a telephone call from another friend who was invited to the same celebration). Hey! The celebration starts at 10am. Oh no! I thought it was lunch celebration. I better ciao! Mad hatter rush to wash up and run down to Taka.

10:03am: Yes, I am here, at library@orchard. 3 minutes late. Still trying to catch my breathe. Practically ran all the way to catch the bus, and through the underpass from Lucky Plaza over to Taka. The place is different again. It is now boarded up with white boards, and the original main glass entrance is no longer visible. The last time I was here, it was only plastered with white paper, and all the glass panels were visible.

10:05am: Stepping into the library through the staff entrance, I was expecting to see a very different library. I still remember Jillian’s post on the last day of the book drop and how the books and shelves has been dismantled and transported. The place looks very empty.

10:10am: Taking a walk around the entire place. It feels so tragic. The shelves had been dismantled. The ceiling is partly removed too. The waterfall is no longer running. The desks are no longer around. The computers are gone.

11am: “Who wants to bring this clock back?” “Who’s cup is this?” Pack. pack. pack. “Where is the food?”

Here is an exclusive peek at the last day of library@orchard.

Today, I took a breather and hop onto a bus to Orchard in the evening. I was wondering how will Orchard library look and feel after it’s closure/moving on. You know, somehow the emotions are pulling the heart, to take another look at how this place has changed.

I took the escalator up the floors, one at a time. Looking around to see how the place is. Each of the other floors is still the same. There is no change to the lower floors. However, when the escalator brought me to the library, changes are visible. Large white papers have been plastered over all the glass panels, preventing any passer-by from viewing the interiors. Notices that alert the library users to the closure of the library can be seen at almost every few panels.

Surprise can still be seen on the faces of a number of people who walked all the way up to read the notice that the library has closed. Seemed like they still didn’t know that orchard library has closed/is moving on.

Today, is the “moving on” party at Library@Orchard. It is the last day that the library is open to the public. Orchard library will no longer be the same ever again. The books will be transferred to other library. The place will be tore down and returned to landlord. Sob :’(

When the clock hit 9pm, the doors to orchard library started to be closed, a panel at a time. Visitors and staffs walked out of the door with heavy heart. The final panel was closed. The lights went out. The crowd lingers with deep longing. Minutes passed, yet the crowd stayed at the door, unwilling to leave the place they have known for years. Longing and sadness can be seen in their eyes. A staff, who had been holding back the emotion for so long, broke down in tears. Hugs started to go around, and more tears rolled down. :’(

Some put up a brave front, and lightens the mood with jovial chats. Others can be seen touching the glass panels longingly with sorrow. Good bye Orchard Library. We will miss you.

P.S. For those who miss Orchard Library, you can relive the library through the 360 degree view of orchard library at 21 different positions in the library. A music video has also been produced by SimplyJean as a tribute to orchard library.

Library@Orchard moves out of Ngee Ann City
By Chio Su-Mei, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 30 November 2007 2255 hrs

SINGAPORE: The Library at Orchard has moved out of Ngee Ann City. Opened in October 1999, it was the first lifestyle library designed to appeal to the young at heart. Library staff threw a moving-on party worthy of the library’s young, funky image, with musical performances and good food. But no tears were shed, because the library will reopen in 2010 at the *scape space near Orchard Cineleisure, and it will be called the library@*scape. A second library will also open at another as yet unconfirmed location along Orchard Road. The new libraries promise to be bigger and offer a wider selection of books. “(There will) probably be more space, more lounge (area), more tables and chairs for us to sit down, and maybe even more power-plugs, so we can bring our laptops and just sit down there and waste a few hours in the library and just relax,” said Dr N Varaprasad, Chief Executive of the National Library Board. “We will offer segmented services, (it’ll be) a lot more lively. The good thing is that we will all have twice the amount of space as this single one, so it means quite a lot more resources, quite a lot more breathing space. We will be equally hip, and it will be up-to-date.” – CNA/yb

Remembering
Library at Orchard
Forever…

Library@Orchard will be closing on 30 Nov 2007. It will cease to exist in our future, as the rental will be increased beyond an acceptable rate for a public facility. While we say farewell to the physical library, I hope to keep a digital memory of the library for both you and me. As such, I have captured numerous 360 degree view at different spots of the library. Each of this spot can be viewed individually using Quicktime movie player. (Each of the file is around 1-2+MB.)

Click on the following spot numbers to download the Quicktime movie file.
Spot 1    Spot 2    Spot 3    Spot 4    Spot 5
Spot 6    Spot 7    Spot 8    Spot 9    Spot10
Spot11    Spot12    Spot13    Spot14    Spot15
Spot16    Spot17    Spot18    Spot19    Spot20
Spot21

(more…)

Memories. I remembered that the Library@Orchard opened in the midst of a happening year (1999) that both the “giant” bookstores, Borders (at Wheellock Place) and  Kinukuniya (at Takashimaya) also opened. I was a university student during that time, and Orchard, became my second home in the weekends. I will tend to drop by Kinukuniya to read some books or magazines. And when my legs get tired of the standing, I will visit Orchard library to pick up some books, and grab a seat. Following, when it closes at night, I will hop over to Borders for their sofa seats and late closing hours.

Today, I am backed at Library@Orchard, in answer to their call to act as Citizen Reporters who are willing to blog about Library@Orchard, before their closure on 30 Nov 2007. Stepping back into the library, the place feels the same with all the glassy walls and the waterfall feature next to the cafe. The waterfall feature was a highlight which I always love. It was such a new idea at the birth of Library@Orchard. However, as it is situated next to the cafe, I rarely sat at those tables in the past, as I didn’t want to purchase any food and drinks from the cafe. Somehow, I felt obliged to purchase from the cafe as the seats seem to belong to them.

The brief briefing for citizen reporters is held in a meeting room, tucked near the side of the magazine section. I was treated with a truely brief briefing of 6 min 23 sec by Mr Ivan, which was naughty timed by me. It is a very causal and friendly briefing, which was accompanied with cakes, donuts, and drinks, which were purchase by our dear friendly Ms Jillian.

The library looks a little different today. As its closure is approaching, the event “Dream Wall” was organised earlier. The glassy walls are filled with paintwork. One of the extremely nice paintwork is this following shelfs of books. It just has a kind of nostagic feeling.

Library@Orchard. Today feels like home-coming. And yet, goodbye. I will be back again before your closure.