New library, museum opens on river

[reader]

Excerpts from Bangkok Post

 

High-tech library, co-working space and museum rolled into one, the Bank of Thailand's new Learning Center -- recently opened to commemorate its 75th anniversary -- is shaping up to be Bangkok's latest riverside destination. Situated right by the Chao Phraya, with a picturesque view of the river, the centre is located across from the Bank of Thailand offices under the Rama VIII bridge, and sees a 50-year-old maximum-security note-printing facility transformed into a spacious and serene public library.

 

With exposed tile-brick walls and oppressive steel bank vaults clashing with the smart, modern furnishings of the library and its open glass wall, with a view of the river, the centre is an amalgamation of past and present, a modern relic of yesteryear steeped with history and technology alike.

 

"This building is considered a significant monument when it comes to the financial history of Thailand, as the country's first money-printing facility," said Prapakorn Wannakanok, director of the BoT's 's Financial Literacy Department.

 

The centre is also part of the Online Computer Learning Center (OCLC), a knowledge-sharing network of learning centres around the world, including the libraries of such famous universities as MIT and Stanford. This means that visitors can even access digital resources -- books, reports, etc -- shared by those OCLC members at the BoT's centre as well.

 

Access to the library and its spaces is free, though access to certain resources may require membership. While the details of the membership programme are still being finalised, Prapakorn says that the fee for members should be no more than 1,500 baht per year, and will come with access to the OCLC resources and the co-working spaces, as well as book-loaning and museum access.

 

The Bank of Thailand Learning Centre is open every day from 9.30am. The Library and Co-working Space areas close at 8pm, while the museum closes at 4pm.

 

Entry to the museum is free (for the first six months of the year). There are six guided tours through the exhibits every morning at 9.30am, 10am and 10.30am, and in the afternoon at 1.30pm, 2pm and 2.30pm.
 

Continues with pics and video

 

https://www.bangkokpost.com/lifestyle/social-and-lifestyle/1396038/the-value-of-old-money

[vinapu]

Thank you for bringing this up, visit there can be combined with visit to Bank of Thailand museum in old mansion on other side of bridge, still on Bangkok side of the river.

 

Now I know where to go on the first day of my trip whenever it will be. In meantime hope ChristianPFC, well know book worm,  will visit and report his impression on his blog and perhaps even here.

[Alexx]

Knowing the Thais' love for books and libraries, I have no fear that the place will be overcrowded whenever I get around to visit.

[reader]

From The Nation

 

 

The once tightly guarded banknote-printing plant is now open for all to see – and to use

 

 

THAILAND’S ORIGINAL Note Printing Facility, sitting alongside the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, used to be a highly restricted facility enclosed within walls, its windows reinforced with thick iron bars. 

 

Now it’s welcoming visitors as the Learning Centre, with glass walls and open spaces, housing the Bank of Thailand Museum, a hi-tech library, and one of those new-fashioned “co-working spaces”.

 

Opposite Bank of Thailand headquarters on Samsen Road next to Rama VIII Bridge, the 49-year-old building, designed by ML Santhaya Israsena and Dr Ratchata Kanjanavit, ceded its 12,900 square metres to the Learning Centre, which opened earlier this year to commemorate the central bank’s 75th anniversary.

 

BANK ON LEARNING

 

The Bank of Thailand Learning Centre on Samsen Road of Bangkok is open daily except Monday from 9.30am. The museum closes at 4.30pm and the library and co-working space at 8pm.

Admission to the museum is free until June. Guided tours are conducted six times a day, at 9.30, 10, 10.30, 1.30, 2 and 2.30. The tour lasts an hour and 45 minutes.

Find out more at (02) 356 7766 or visit www.Botlc.or.th.