Hamid (front, third right) in a photo-call with members of the local media and Pustaka Negeri Sarawak board members. Seen on the same row as Hamid are (from right) Lo, Japri and Patrick.
KUCHING: Pustaka Negeri Sarawak is organising three major events slated for next year, says deputy chief executive officer (operations) Japri Bujang Masli.
The three events will be the International Knowledge Conference 2020 (IKC 2020) set tentatively next March, the Sarawak Authors Festival 2020, and the International Archive Week.
Japri points out IKC 2020 is a venue for researchers and practitioners, especially those in the Asean region, to connect with the international research communities, exchange ideas and share knowledge in the fields of library and information science, as well as records and archive management.
The event is sponsored by the Sarawak government and the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
On Sarawak Authors Festival 2020, Japri says it will feature a variety of presentations and readings by authors, as well as other activities over a three-day period, with the primary goal of promoting and fostering writing among book authors.
He adds that the event is also aimed at building a public arena for the promotion and presentation of local and regional writing, apart from creating new opportunities for social and cultural interactions, promoting Sarawak authors and their books, as well as promoting and encouraging Sarawak authors to register with Sarawak Authors Homepage.
On the International Archives Week, which is celebrated every June, Japri points out that it is to promote awareness of the functions, roles and services of records and archives, and the need to maintain records and archives for long-term preservation and accessibilities.
Moreover, Japri also says the state library’s new regional branch, Pustaka Sibu, is expected to commence operations in the first quarter of next year, adding that it will serve the communities within the central region.
Back on the state library, he says the new archive building project is still under the tender process and is expected to be awarded to the main contractor by January next year.
“The building is expected to reach completion in three years’ time,” he spoke during a Media Appreciation 2019 event at Pustaka Negeri Sarawak in Petra Jaya here yesterday.
Adding on, Japri said the memorandum of agreement (MoA) for the archive building project was signed last month between Pustaka Negeri Sarawak represented by chairman Tan Sri Hamid Bugo, and the consultants – namely Consultant PU Sdn Bhd, LT Quantity Surveyor Sdn Bhd, Consultant CH Engineering Sdn Bhd, Geomatics Survey Consultant and PCS Konsultant Sdn Bhd.
Other board members of the state library Lo Khere Chiang and Datu William Patrick Nyigor were also present at the media event yesterday.