Experience by Straying
The Aspiration Pathfinder (AsPI™) service uses the “Straying” principle, the experience analogous to ‘surfing’ from webpage to webpage to bring participants of AsPI™ from one component say Japanese Kabuki dance to another tenuously connected experience (e.g Anime Art). It’s accompanied by a ‘travel guide’, which provides complementary information on the various experiences.

Experience by Mystery
The Play Singapore service is modeled after Alternate Reality Games (ARG), which involves the weaving of interactive game elements in varying media, using the real world as a platform. This involves the participants in a blend of online and real-world challenges, and invoke the use of library resources as they work toward solving the various challenges to win the game.

Experience by Subversion
The Takeover project takes over a physical space in a designated library, making it a personality-driven space that is shaped and evolved by visitors, with the aim of creating a tangible output based on a specially invited personality.

Gene Tan is the creator of Ask Stupid QuestionsTM, Aspiration PathfinderTM and Bear FruitTM. For Ask Stupid QuestionsTM – a gameshow that is based on the reference enquiry – Gene has conducted more than 100 sessions for clients including SUN Microsystems, SingTel, and regionally for companies in Asia. For Aspiration PathfinderTM – an experience-driven subject discovery programme, he won the inaugural TEC Champion Award in for promoting innovation in the civil service and within the National Library Board. His Bear FruitTM do-good creativity programme was also awarded funding by the Creative Community Singapore and has been conducted for the benefit of institutions such as the Institute of Mental Health. Gene is a National Lead Assessor for the Singapore Innovation Awards. These are part of Gene’s portfolio of Deputy Director, Programmes & Exhibitions, where he directs the development of programmes, conferences and exhibitions to bring libraries into the mainstream of businesses, institutions and communities.

Gene also drives the development of strategies supporting the developing of the National Library in Singapore. This includes directing Singapore Memory, a national digital project to build a comprehensive national collection of Singapore materials for research and discovery. Further, he is directing the development of Tri-Web, the 3 websites of the NLB representing its corporate, public libraries and national library faces