Ministry Amongst Books: Librarians Mala and David

Before joining EAST, both Mala and David were civil servants.

“I enjoy interacting with students at EAST.  My joy is getting to know the students – both local and overseas and bond with them. The sadness is having to say goodbyes to the international students after their commencement ceremony. I had the opportunities to pray with the students, laugh with them and even cry with them. Having the student librarians have been a source of help and encouragement to me over the years.” Mala shared.

As for David, he recalled, “I joined EAST in 2019 and I was posted to work with Mala at the library. A year later on October 2020, we were faced with the challenge of setting up the library at the Joo Chiat Campus.  Because of space constraint, we had to downsize the book collection from 16,000 to 12,000 books.  It was a real challenge as we had to label the boxes, shelf the books systematically and it involved the physical labour of moving the books over.”

Although the task of moving seemed daunting, many students, faculty members and staff helped Mala and David in the “BIG SHIFT”. Thank God for His wisdom and protection throughout the process. It took meticulous planning, systematic and good operational process to transport the books over to EAST Mission Hub at 118 Joo Chiat Road.

Then came the strict Covid lockdown but by then EAST was able to implement the subscription to The Digital Theological Library (DTL) in April 2020. This timely subscription allowed our students to access DTL’s  collection of 600,000+ books, 60 million + articles, 21,000+ journals and 150+ databases. EAST students were able to do their research and finish all the online class assignments by then.

There is a rooftop garden at EAST that is accessible through a side door from the library.  This serene space is used frequently by the students, faculty and staff for fellowship, or for spending personal quiet times with the Lord. The space has been beautifully curated by Mrs Josephine Li, EAST adjunct faculty, and the plants there are well taken care of by Dr Roland Tan, EAST resident faculty.

Mala and David are always at hand to assist and welcome you at the EAST library when you visit. The library opening hours are: Mondays to Fridays, 9am to 5pm.