In August this year, Penangites will get to enjoy the first Penang Digital Library, a brainchild of the state government in partnership with two private companies.

The RM2.5 million project will be supported by TIME dotCom, in collaboration with Keysight Technologies and Eastern & Oriental Bhd.

It will be located at the premises of the former Puspanita building, an iconic heritage building of the Penang Free School, with modern facilities inside.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who announced the project today, said the digital library, will be a first for Penang and Malaysia.

He described it as a “technological breakthrough” for the Penang government, although it is a norm in Western countries.

Lim denied that the state was abandoning traditional libraries, saying “we are exploring new ones”.

He told a press conference in Komtar: “It’s a pioneering effort to offer greater diversity and better choices for Penangites. This is an exciting time and new era for libraries.

“It will provide users structured access to information and knowledge – via the over 3,000 specially curated e-books, e-magazines and reference journals – that will fan the spark of interest into a flame of knowledge.”

Asked if banned books could also be found in the archives of the digital library, Lim said the state government would comply with the rules and regulations of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.

The project follows the state-initiated Penang Science Cluster, which became the catalyst for various projects such as the Penang Science Café and Tech Dome Penang, which will be launched next month.

The Chief Minister of Penang Incorporated (CMI) has been appointed to act on behalf of the state for the development of the digital library.

CMI will manage the library together with the Penang Public Library Corporation and Keysight Technologies.

TIME dotCom has agreed to provide 100mbps for 24 months for the usage of the Digital Library as part of its corporate social responsibility.

E&O is the main contributor for building refurbishment works, including the mechanical and electrical works required to transform the existing state government building into the state’s first digital library.

Keysight Technologies will be formulating the foundation, structure and content of the Penang Digital Library.