Reading fever

I have been in a reading frenzy for the past few weeks or so. That is ever since I became member of the newly-opened Johor State Library located at Jalan Yahya Awal. The library is not to say very well-stocked up with books but it is quite a good effort on the part of the Johor government. The ambience and atmosphere are superb. It is very comfortable to spend some hours in on my free time. It's not those kinds of libraries where you must shut up. In fact, the whole library is quite relaxed and lively. There is not stupid dress code like most government agencies require. There is also a small cafe to take a cup of coffee while reading a book.

Come to think of it, I have always been a library-person. When I was small, I frequented the Shah Alam library which at that time was the biggest in Malaysia. Those days, I had a family card which allowed me to borrow about 8 books at one time. Later on when I shifted to KL, my visits to libraries dropped dramatically (despite the fact that I was a librarian in school). The KL national library was not so far from my house but the public bus service in that direction was horrible. For that matter of fact, public transportation in KL was and still is shameful. But the KL library really had a huge collection of reading materials. I remembered the days when I had to research old newspaper articles while working on some school projects. Was able to find papers even till pre-war days in KL's library. I also remembered there was a room with a 'Koleksi Bahan-Bahan Haram' or something like that. Would really like to sieve through these bahan-bahan haram! But for that I need to get the Home Ministry's approval! Fat chance of that.

Later on I moved to Dungun which also had a library which to my surprise was sufficiently stocked with good English reading materials. Those days I worked shift and had quite a lof of free time in the day. I did most of my John Grisham and Sidney Sheldon books during that 1 year I was in Dungun. And after a visit to the library on Thursday evenings, I can even visit the biggest Pasar Malam in the east coast, which is virtually next door.

Coming to Pasir Gudang, there was a library runned by the Pasir Gudang municipality. However, I rarely visited it. But somehow, ever since the new JB library opened I had reinvigorated in me a new Library fever. I've been reading 2 books every fortnight, borrowed from this spanking new library. My latest 'reading in progress' are Daniel Goleman's "Working with Emotional Intelligence" and Penn's "Microtrends".

The reading culture in Malaysia is still quite weak. Unlike Singapore which has themed-libraries even in shopping malls, here libraries are sparsely located with lousy collection of books. Well perhaps, that may change for the better in the future. Meanwhile, I really congratulate JB for a nice library which has helped me nourish my brain with new knowledge! For more info on this new state library, visit http://ppaj.johordt.gov.my/.