| A
kickboxing librarian |
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| Gene
striking a pose. Kickboxing at
Orchard Road was part of the AsPI
programme. |
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|
The image of a librarian is stereotypically
someone bookish who wears thick glasses,
dowdy clothes, has her hair in a bun and no life outside the library.
But Mr Gene Tan from the National Library Board (NLB) breaks all myths, stereotypes
and personas of a traditional librarian. He is the new age, cool and sleek librarian
who innovates with passion, zeal and style. He is also a TEC (The Enterprise
Challenge) Champion.
Aspiration Pathfinder
Reminiscing about his innovation journey which saw the development and launch
of the TEC sponsored Aspiration Pathfinder (AsPI) programme, Gene says, “I
wanted to change the world a little bit, seriously! Being a ‘learn-by-rote’ student,
I felt very inadequate and craved for exposure to diverse perspectives outside
my little world. So at an Innovation Masterclass, I toyed with combining the
travel experience with library services. The result was a library programme that
emulates the best travel experience — the kind that takes you to meet people
and undergo experiences you don’t usually encounter.”
In fact, this starry-eyed innovator has such a strong inclination for AsPI that
he says, “AsPI is everything that I’ve ever believed in — anything
less than that and it becomes work.”
|
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| Gene
and his team gave the crowd at
Global Entrepolis @ Singapore an
innovative and energising treat. |
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An agent of change
Gene is a veteran public officer who joined the Public Service even before NLB
was formed. True to his radical nature, he quickly joined the lifestyle library
revolution. He was part of the team that initiated the famous library@orchard
and introduced the cafés in libraries concept in Singapore.
In addition, Gene was also the brain behind the
popular “Ask Stupid Questions” workshops
that have inspired staff in over 20 organisations
to innovate and think creatively.
Thriving on challenges
As someone who derives energy from challenges,
Gene fought hard to make people understand AsPI
and not to be terrified by it. Since AsPI makes
people stray from what they know and learn not
by rote but by experiences and interaction, Singaporeans
were shell-shocked at first! So Gene adapted AsPI
so that users can better understand the programme
and accept it more readily.
AsPI is currently in the second phase of development.
Gene’s
biggest challenge now is making it
accessible to all without letting it become ordinary.
Gene is grateful for the funding from TEC which
is also supporting the second phase of AsPI. He
looks upon the TEC Unit team as football coaches
nudging him forward and giving him a big push when
the going gets tough.
Gene envisions that one day AsPI will become a
worldwide programme that will be talked about and
imparted as much as the “7 Habits of Highly
Effective People”. His team’s dream
is to become the “Creative Technology” of
creativity and innovation. And they’re in
the process of planning manuals, a book and even
a gameshow!
TEC Champion
Gene received the TEC Champion Award at the Global
Entrepolis @ Singapore 2003. This award is presented
to public officers to recognise their innovative
and enterprising spirit.
Gene is not only one of the new breed of librarians
but also an exemplary public officer who truly
lives his dreams. He has incorporated everything
he loves, from theatre to gameshows, into his work.
He explains, “Breaking down the distinction
between work, life and passion makes you feel like
you are living, not working!” |
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| By
Nirmala Sakthi, TEC Executive |
