Memories of the Taman Jurong 'Public Library' in the 1970s
Do you know National Library actually ran a small library in Taman Jurong back in the 1970s? Back then, Jurong East never existed and the land where the existing library now stands was right smack in a kampung area. Hence, in a sense, the library in Taman Jurong Community Centre (now the Jurong Town Community Club) was the first public library located within a community centre. The library was located on the second floor of the community centre and can only be accessed via a staircase. The community centre itself was located along Yung Sheng Road, next to a hawker centre and diagonally behind the old Jurong Cinema. The space it occupied back then was small – about two-thirds the size of the NLGSLS office today. Nonetheless, it was quite well-stocked for a small library.
I vividly recalled signing up as a member and paying S$5 ... sorry – no free membership those days ... SIGH! If I recall correctly, the library did not open every day but on certain days only. However, I looked forward to each opening day as I always had a really good time broadening my intellectual horizon and ‘morphing’ into a bookworm there. The feel-good factor was aided by library staff there were not the typical SHHHHH!!!!!! librarians but who were actually very helpful and pleasant.
Sadly, before the decade was out, the library was closed and it was not till nearly a decade later, i.e. in 1988, did the Jurong East Community Library (now Jurong Regional Library) open its doors to the public. However, it should not detract from the fact that though the Taman Jurong ‘Community Centre’ Library (as I fondly called it) no longer exists, I still have wonderful memories of my time spent there.
