2011-2012 - Center for Khmer Studies

THE cKs LiBRARY: REAcHinG GLoBAL fRonTiERsA monk browsing the bookshelves in the cKs libraryfor the past four years, the CKS Board and LibraryCommittee have been concentrating their attention onour new building: choosing and discarding plans,selecting builders and materials, picking woods, colors,designs, and generally trying to make the space as usefuland pleasant as possible. A year after its opening, thebuilding can be considered a resounding success - morereaders have filled the increased number of seats. We nowhave both an official and unofficial reading room; while theofficial one has almost doubled in size, the terrace of thenew building is often just as crowded. Its popularity hasmuch to do with the availability of WiFi and the sereneviews of greenery and frangipani trees that enhance thepeaceful atmosphere. Scholars have also begun to use ournew, spacious carrel room for their research, whilst seminarsand meetings take place in a bright and airy seminarroom.into The Digital AgeThanks to the generosity of Board members and friends ofthe library, as well as the energy and competence of ourlibrarians, and the hard work of the CKS staff and director,operations on the ground are going well. With the newbuilding completed, we can now turn our attention frombricks to bytes, as we plan to extend the reach of the library8 in focus