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(Mama, Angels and Demons
by Dan Brown and the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling.
Hjh Aminah informed The
Brunei Times that the princesses will continue to
contribute to the development of the library as time
goes on.
"This is not the first,
and will not be the last time Their Royal Highnesses
will contribute to the library," she said.
The library, yet to be
officially launched, is the fourth and final branch to
be opened under RKN8 in Brunei-Muara District, the ninth
overall branch in Brunei.
It presently has a
total of 9,168 books, 6,353 of which are in the Malay
language while the remaining 2,815 are in English.
At the moment this is
the only community library in the area," said the deputy
director, adding that the new library will cater to not
only the needs of students but for the entire community
including their teachers and parents as well.
Hjh Aminah said that
the library, completed in September 2008, is
strategically located for convenience purposes to make
it more inviting for the Sengkurong community to read.
"This is part. of His
Majesty's titah to empower the people to read more, this
is why we make it most convenient and comfortable for
the people to visit the library," she said.
The deputy director
then explained that the library will also be equipped
with numerous study areas as well as the
state-of-the-art facilities such as an internet equipped
cyber room.
When asked what she
felt of Brunei's reading culture, Hjh Aminah replied
that sales from the recent Brunei Book Fair indicated a
positive increase in the population's interest in
reading.
"The participants (at
the book fair) said that they could earn in excess of
$5,000 to $6,000, meaning that the number of people
reading books in Brunei is on an increasing trend," said
the deputy director.
She also spoke of
Brunei's campaign to empower reading culture, scheduled
to be launched on June 2.
Gracing the event as
the guest of honour to symbolically hand over the hooks
was Her Royal Highness Princess 'Azemah Ni'matul Bolkiah.
Once launched,
operating hours of the library will begin from 8am to
12pm followed by 2pm to 5pm, excluding Fridays. The
official date of launching however could not be
disclosed.
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Courtesy of The Brunei Times |
