Students test computers ahead of Lumpini Library’s official opening on December 4. It has been transformed by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and US software giant Microsoft into possibly the most digitally advanced public library in the world.

The library's digital renovation, the first of its kind since it was established in 1955, was initiated by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

Craig Mundie, worldwide chief technology officer of Microsoft, offered the company's help to Her Royal Highness during his visit to Thailand in 2005.

To date, the library has cost the BMA Bt13 million to renovate, Bt2 million of which was donated by Microsoft in the form of computer hardware - 22 PCs, one notebook and two LCD monitors - and software - Microsoft Encarta Encyclopaedia, software licences for the 23 computers and eight courses of the Unlimited Potential Community Learning Curriculum.

Microsoft also helped to design consultation services and the installation of the much-anticipated Microsoft Windows Vista operating system and Office 2007 program.

"At Microsoft, we believe that learning doesn't stop at the library wall. That's why there is WiFi Internet within a 100-metre radius," said Andrew McBean, managing director of Microsoft Thailand.

"The way people learn has changed dramatically over the years, and it has got more interactive," McBean said.

To adapt to users' changing behaviour, the 439-square-metre library, with 16,000 members, and 700 to 1,000 daily users, has been divided into four zones: an Information Zone; a Quiet Zone, which houses the Princess's personal rare-book collection; a Cyber Zone, including a cafe; and a Kids' Zone.

The renovation is aimed at making learning more fun and mobile, said McBean, pointing out that a student once compared reading in the old library with reading "in prison".

Microsoft hopes the library, modelled after the success of the Haines Borough Public Library in Alaska and incorporating ideas from Microsoft's School of the Future project, would serve to enhance citizens' digital literacy, said McBean.

The Digital Literacy program in the CD-Rom format by Microsoft aims at educating a new generation of computer users. The CDs will be distributed to 53 public libraries and 435 schools under the BMA's supervision.

Although it was not a deliberate marketing attempt on Microsoft's part, the renovation will help the company reach various grassroots communities.

McBean said Microsoft believes it has a responsibility to give to the community, saying it was a "natural extension" for the company.

In a way, it was how Microsoft "earned the ticket to do business in Thailand", he said.

"I hope Lumpini Library, with new IT technology, will become a knowledge treasure, inspiring and encouraging lay people of all ages to learn independently," said Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin, who was given a guided tour.

Lumpini Library will be officially opened on December 4 by HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

Ki Nan Tsui

The Nation