The social role of the Raffles Library, Singapore, in the inter-war years
Purpose – The purpose of this article is to examine the inter-war history of the Raffles Library in Singapore with the aim of understanding what the management of the library believed its role should be as well as the role others in that society considered that it should fulfill. Design/meth...
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2012
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/91278 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/8357 |
| _version_ | 1826129459689816064 |
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| author | Luyt, Brendan |
| author2 | Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information |
| author_facet | Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information Luyt, Brendan |
| author_sort | Luyt, Brendan |
| collection | NTU |
| description | Purpose – The purpose of this article is to examine the inter-war history of the Raffles Library in Singapore with the aim of understanding what the management of the library believed its role should be as well as the role others in that society considered that it should fulfill.
Design/methodology/approach – The article is based on historical research using archival sources.
Findings – To a great extent the management of the library narrowly construed the institution's mission in terms of appealing to that class of persons likely to become paying members – that is, the European elite and its high-level local collaborators. Financial constraints, relations between the library and museum as well as prevalent negative attitudes regarding class and race in colonial society are likely reasons for the lack of sustained attention to non-European populations.
Originality/value – The library history of much of Asia remains relatively unexplored, especially from a viewpoint that stresses the importance of social context to library structure and operation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T07:40:58Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/91278 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T07:40:58Z |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/912782020-03-07T12:15:50Z The social role of the Raffles Library, Singapore, in the inter-war years Luyt, Brendan Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information DRNTU::Library and information science::Libraries Purpose – The purpose of this article is to examine the inter-war history of the Raffles Library in Singapore with the aim of understanding what the management of the library believed its role should be as well as the role others in that society considered that it should fulfill. Design/methodology/approach – The article is based on historical research using archival sources. Findings – To a great extent the management of the library narrowly construed the institution's mission in terms of appealing to that class of persons likely to become paying members – that is, the European elite and its high-level local collaborators. Financial constraints, relations between the library and museum as well as prevalent negative attitudes regarding class and race in colonial society are likely reasons for the lack of sustained attention to non-European populations. Originality/value – The library history of much of Asia remains relatively unexplored, especially from a viewpoint that stresses the importance of social context to library structure and operation. Accepted version 2012-07-31T03:51:45Z 2019-12-06T18:02:48Z 2012-07-31T03:51:45Z 2019-12-06T18:02:48Z 2012 2012 Journal Article Luyt, B. (2012). The social role of the Raffles Library, Singapore, in the inter-war years. Journal of Documentation, 68(1), 134-143. 0022-0418 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/91278 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/8357 10.1108/00220411211200365 en Journal of documentation © 2012 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. This is the author created version of a work that has been peer reviewed and accepted for publication by Journal of Documentation, Emerald Group Publishing Limited. It incorporates referee’s comments but changes resulting from the publishing process, such as copyediting, structural formatting, may not be reflected in this document. The published version is available at: [http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00220411211200365]. application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | DRNTU::Library and information science::Libraries Luyt, Brendan The social role of the Raffles Library, Singapore, in the inter-war years |
| title | The social role of the Raffles Library, Singapore, in the inter-war years |
| title_full | The social role of the Raffles Library, Singapore, in the inter-war years |
| title_fullStr | The social role of the Raffles Library, Singapore, in the inter-war years |
| title_full_unstemmed | The social role of the Raffles Library, Singapore, in the inter-war years |
| title_short | The social role of the Raffles Library, Singapore, in the inter-war years |
| title_sort | social role of the raffles library singapore in the inter war years |
| topic | DRNTU::Library and information science::Libraries |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/91278 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/8357 |
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