U-Pustaka has more than 100,000 members in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: More than 100,000 people in Sabah have become members of the U-Pustaka, an online library service since it was introduced in the state last April.

Minister of Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Jainab Ahmad said the U-Pustaka service was first introduced at the State Library’s Penampang Branch on April 16 where a kiosk is provided for users to browse the U-Pustaka portal, borrow books and also pay fines.

She said this in her speech at the launching of the U-Pustaka service at the State Library Headquarters here yesterday. Her speech was read by the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Community Development and Consumer Affairs, Datuk Siti Sapoo Ahok.

Jainab said two Book-Drop machines were provided for the public to return books borrowed through the U-Pustaka service.

She said her ministry would continue to support programmes by the State Library to realise the government’s aspiration of creating a reading culture and a knowledge society by 2020.

Besides expanding library services, the government would also build more libraries in the state, she said.

For 2014, Jainab said the state government had approved the construction of a new regional library building in Tanjung Aru costing RM40 million.

“It will be undertaken jointly by the Lahad Datu Water Supply Sdn Bhd and the Sabah Development Bank as a corporate social responsibility (CSR) project.

“The State Library will also replace 10 rural library buildings and acquire four mobile library bus units,” she said.

Jainab said the federal government through the National Library of Malaysia had also approved the construction of a new library building for its Kinabatangan branch at a cost of RM7.5 million and work was expected to commence in 2014.

She also thanked the federal government for contributing 1,404 netbooks to the State Library through the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

Also present were MCMC’s Chief Officer of Corporate Services and Support Tengku Zaib Raja Ahmad, Deputy Director General of the National Library of Malaysia Nafsiah Ahmad, Director of Sabah State Library Wong Vui Yin, MCMC’s Sabah Director Jusly Elis, Philatelic Society of Malaysia President Datuk Annuar Bashah and Political Secretary to the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Mohd Ali Mansor.