Promenade, Level 10, National Library Building
12 December 2008 to 20 February 2009
10 am - 9pm daily
By: National Library Singapore and Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore
Objectives
This exhibition celebrates the extraordinary life and achievements of this great man; David Saul Marshall. National Library Singapore and Institute of Southeast Asian Studies seeks to promote a better appreciation and understanding of this man who've made a significant impact in Singapore's history.
Target Audience
The National Library strives to promote lifelong learning and bringing of knowledge alive, and therefore the target audience of National Library is the general public. Therefore, this exhibition is targeted for the general public.
Publicity
This exhibition has had little publicity. Other than the information posted on Home page of National Library, Singapore's Heritage, Museum and Nostalgia Blog (yesterday.sg), asiaone, Scoopasia.com, also had information about this exhibition written on it's webpage.
Media Coverage
The media does not cover this event.
The media does not cover this event.
I feel that the main reason why the media doesn't cover this event is because it is a library exhibition. And library exhibitions usually do not attract much of the media attention.
What I think can be done in order to attract media coverage is to invite guest speakers to talk about their real life experiences working together with David Marshall, and what he is really like when he isn't in the courtroom or running for political campaigns.
David Marshall and his contributions are taught at in school. In both Primary and Secondary schools in fact. In Social Studies, students will learn about the conditions Singapore was in during the 1950s and the name David Marshall is usually present, I feel the Library should invite schools to bring their students here, to read the full life story of David Marshall. If it is successful, it would create a buzz and the chances of media coverage would be higher.
Evaluation of Success/Failure
The success of this event can be measured in two ways.
In terms of content, the library has done an amazing job. The depth of the content is just right, its not too brief, neither is it too much. The library has fulfilled its objectives of "Marshall of Singapore: The Extraordinary Life & Times of David Saul Marshall (1908 - 1995)" Exhibition. Therefore, the library is successful in terms of having substantial content.
The little advertisements on this exhibition doesn't create awareness. Many people wouldn't know about this exhibition unless they frequent the national library often, or check their website for updates. I feel that more could be done in terms of advertising. Buying airtime from a radio station would be a good alternatively, yet relatively costly. But if this draws more people to the exhibition, it would be worth it.
Inviting schools to bring their students for a field trip to this exhibition would be something that should be taken into consideration. It allows the students to learn about this man in a more tangible way. Rather than listening to the teacher talk. It'll breathe life into that particular topic and allow learning to be fun! Inviting of guest speakers to speak would also help generate a buzz, and capture the media's attention. With media coverage, it will help to library to attract more people to come see this exhibition.
Generating a buzz, and media coverage is something this exhibition lacks. If i were the manager, I would try go further to try to get media coverage and exposure for this exhibition. I believe then, it will take the success of this exhibition to a greater level.
