Medical University Develops E-Library System For MGS KL

Kuala Lumpur, 28 September 2016 - In yet another showcase of how Malaysia’s booming education fraternity has spawned the sharing of knowledge and expertise to develop the industry further, International Medical University (IMU), together with Senior Methodist Girls School (MGS) Kuala Lumpur, today officiated the latter’s new computerised library system. The new system was developed by a specialised team at IMU under the varsity’s IMU Cares initiative.

The handover ceremony was officiated by Prof. Abdul Aziz Baba, Vice-Chancellor, IMU; Prof Ong Kok Hai, Director of External Affairs and Chairman, IMU Cares, IMU; and Prof Dato’ Dr. Jai Mohan, Director, IMU Learning Resources. Representing MGS KL were Ms Rosemand A/P A.Lawrence, MGS KL’s new principal and MGS KL’s former principal, Mdm Shi Lee Lee, who subsequently handed over the project to Ms. Thamilchelvi a/p Singarathar, Senior Assistant of Administration and Academic Affairs to ensure the smooth implementation of the new system.

Also present to witness the auspicious occasion was Puan Arinawati bt Mohd Yassin, Officer, Education Technology Division of Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur (BTPNKL), Ministry of Education (MOE) [Pegawai Teknologi Pendidikan BTPNKL]. 

Led by IMU’s Chief Librarian, Ms Zuhanariah Mohd Nordin, the project is aimed at updating the physical set-up of the MGS KL’s library and recommend library-related activities that can be implemented by the school’s teachers to fully maximise the use of the library.

“The project began back in April 2016, when we made a visit to MGS to understand the needs of their library. After that, our team, consisting of 10 members, spent about four months to develop, install, configure, test, customise and commission the new system, which students began using at the end of August. We will also access and monitor the system’s use periodically to ensure top efficiency,” said Ms. Zuhanariah Mohd Nordin.

Besides the improved overall efficiency of the library as a whole, the new system will also allow teachers and staff to monitor and analyse data on students’ usage of the library. Easily accessed by teachers, the data includes statistics on the number of students borrowing books, number of books borrowed, amount of fines collected, popular titles, number of additional titles per year, as well as identify students who borrow books the most or the least.

The collective information will then be used by the school to plan its annual budget for the library, plan library-related activities to encourage use of the library by students who do not visit often, while further complementing and enriching the experience of students who use the library most often.

“We truly appreciate the efforts by IMU to develop and implement this new system, which is truly such a boon for us. Prior to this, our system was outdated and poorly maintained for more than ten years, which has left a lot to be desired. Much of the old system’s applications, including those on reporting, membership, updating and transactional activities were not functioning properly,” said Puan Nor Hasmah bt Zamani, teacher in charge of the MGS KL Library.

“This new system not only addresses these issues but goes beyond to deliver added benefits,” she added.

The implementation of the new library system including two computers, one acting as a server and the other for client service as well as a bar code scanner, comes as part of IMU’s focus on making meaningful contributions to the community under its IMU Cares initiative to particularly inculcate a culture of life-long learning.

“This is indeed an excellent chance for us to help schools and institutions without relevant resources. We are indeed blessed with the experts and talented staff, and see it as our responsibility to use this as much as we can towards the greater good, and benefit of the industry and community as a whole. We wish MGS KL all the best and much success with their new library system,” said Prof Ong Kok Hai, Director of External Affairs at IMU and Chairman of IMU Cares.

Among past projects championed by the IMU Cares initiatives include health education for schools and refugee camps, the annual Chariofare Run and Carnival to raise funds for deserving charitable organisations, and free health screenings for rural communities among others.