Feb 252013
 

The world’s biggest floating library – the MV Logos Hope – is docked at Khlong Toey Port (ท่าเรือคลองเตย) and open to visitors from now until March 11. Opening times are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday – Saturday, and 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday – Monday.

The ship is manned by volunteers working for a German Christian foundation, and many books are oriented to Christian themes. Its predecessor, the MV Dolous, proved popular with Thai visitors, especially those wanting to experience being on board a large ship. Along with its books, the ship provided some great photo opportunities.

Sep 112012
 

Bangkok City Hall is to become a new public library and museum after the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) relocates to a new facility in Din Daeng district.

The old city hall should provide spacious accommodation for a substantial library and museum facility. Bangkok governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra has already approved the change of use and the BMA will be seeking a firm to design the museum and library as soon as next month.

Research from this article:

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Old-city-hall-to-become-museum-30186933.html

 

Aug 062012
 

Today I called in at AUA Library on Ratchadamri Road. I hadn’t visited the AUA Language Center for many years, not since I sampled a free Thai language lesson which was an absolutely dreadful parody of a Thai soap opera. Students were banned from talking in Thai and I could have learned more by watching television or going for a massage.

At the start of today’s visit I noticed a poster that read:

Let’s celebrate our big change. The new era of AUA in 2015.

Presumably this means change is afoot, but someone needs to tell them that it’s 2012 and change is needed now. Clearly something is already going on — the library shelves are only half-filled and the furniture has been tagged — but what remains is ancient and mostly fit for the bonfire. It looks like the type of place you’d go to die and then they might not notice for a day or two. I know that I should have asked about the impending changes, but I was just keen to get out.

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Aug 062012
 

Mahidol University (pronounced má-hì-don) has some of the best academic libraries in Thailand. The Central Library at Salaya Campus is particularly worth visiting and easy to reach by bus from Victory Monument. I used to work at the Salaya Campus and always found it a pleasant environment to be in.

The Mahidol University Library catalogue can be searched online. Information about each of the libraries is presented in English and appears to be updated regularly.

Mahidol University Library catalogue:

Links and information for each of the Mahidol University Libraries:

Jul 302012
 

Yesterday I made a brief visit to the Maruey Library at the Stock Exchange of Thailand. Little has changed there since I last visited just over a year ago, apart from a new security fence that surrounds the building. You may recall that the building was attacked by Red Shirt protesters, and I presume the owners would rather that didn’t happen again.

Inside the library there have been a few very minor changes to layout and decoration. The Maruey Library still specialises in books on finance and investment with most of its publications in Thai language. There are some English language newspapers on the ground floor and it’s not difficult to find a stack of English books upstairs in the silent reading area. Somewhat annoyingly, lift music or Musak is still played downstairs.

Jul 292012
 

The Li-bra-ry Café (ร้านกาแฟ ไล-บรา-รี่) in Sukhumvit Soi 24 is a beautiful café to visit and they serve some great food and drinks. Right now, I have a very nice hot cappuccino (75 baht) and my companion is enjoying a delicious strawberry smoothie (110 baht). This compares reasonably with other stylish and themed cafés in Bangkok.

After ordering our second round of drinks I noticed that all beverages are half price when ordered with a rice main dish. There is free Wi-Fi (you’ll find the Wi-Fi code on your receipt) and free albeit limited parking immediately outside. We took one of the last parking spaces before the café filled up.

The customers are mostly attractive upper-middle class young Thais. There are also quite a few other Asian visitors who I would guess are from Singapore. Most of them are women. It looks like a trendy place to be seen.

As you might guess, there are lots of books and magazines here to read but unfortunately no newspapers. If you can read English, Thai or Japanese then you should find something of interest.

Drinks are ordered at the counter and you’ll be expected to collect your own when they call your order out. I presume this is why some people have criticised this as “self-service”. Food is delivered to your table.

Jul 282012
 

Yesterday I made a trip into Bangkok “city centre” (Siam and Central World area) to do some shopping and decided to combine this with a quick visit to some bookshops and a couple of libraries to check whether anything had changed. I borrowed my friend’s Blackberry Bold phone and took some snaps along the way.

One of the first things I noticed was the new flagship store for Asia Books at Central World. Positioned on the 6th floor next to the main atrium (Room No.C 610/1,C 612 ,C 613 , Zone C, 6th Floor) the new store is huge and carries a far wider range of books than its other branches.

  

  

I would definitely recommend this new store as worth a visit.

   

Jul 232012
 

The William Warren Library is a reference library open to the general public. It also offers a lending service to members for a small annual fee. Operated under the James H.W. Thompson Foundation, the library focuses on Asian arts, textiles and culture.

As one might expect from the Foundation, the library is well managed, has excellent resources (in both English and Thai) and is suitably stylish and comfortable to visit. It is closely associated with the nearby Jim Thompson House Museum.

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William Warren is a prolific author and has written extensively about Thailand and Jim Thompson. He has lived in Thailand since 1950 and worked as a lecturer at the prestigious Chulalongkorn University for more than 30 years. Not surprisingly, many of his publications on various aspects of Thai culture, the arts, and history can be found in the library.

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Jul 232012
 

The SCB Learning Center is located at the SCB Park Plaza on Ratchadapisek Road. The center includes a small library open to the public, and training facilities for SCB employees. The library is small but well-managed and pleasant to use.

The library (ห้องสมุดธนาคารไทยพาณิชย์) has a good selection of textbooks, journals, newspapers, annual reports, and CD ROMs. Publications are available in Thai and English, but most are available in Thai only.

SCB Learning Center Library

The compact library is located in a single room on the ground floor. A staircase leads to a computer lab and training facilities for SCB employees only. The library has a good choice of modern books and has free internet for all visitors – contact the information desk for more information. Lending services are limited to SCB employees only.

SCB Learning Center Library viewed from the rear

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Jul 232012
 

Thailand Knowledge Park (TK Park) includes a lending and reference library, mini-theater, and digital technology center. The library has an attractive, modern appearance that befits its location in a popular shopping mall. Its shelves are well-stocked with new books and magazines in Thai and English, and there are many computers for visitors to use. It is located on the 8th floor of the Central World shopping complex, close to SF World cinema and Central Food Hall.

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TK Park Library is very popular with Thai visitors, frequently very busy, and has sensibly been zoned into several distinct sections, namely

  • Living Library (main collection)
  • IT Library
  • Music library
  • Children’s Library
  • Quiet Nook

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