Remember the last time you scribbled lines and smiley faces, or maybe wrote secret notes and confessions, or created flowers out of faces … on a book?
Well, the Singapore Memory Project wants to reconnect you with the memories you have with your book. Titled ‘Books That Moved Me’, the campaign features stories of the relationship between a persona and his book.
The Singapore Memory Project released one of its campaign videos named ‘Finding Mahdhir’ on the 25th of June via Facebook and it has since garnered more than 2,000 ‘likes’ and 800 ‘shares’. The video tells the story of how organisers tracked down 32-year-old public relations officer Mahdhir from the doodles on his book.
A key clue of Mahdhir’s whereabouts lies in one of the first few pages of the book titled ‘Encyclopedia of Science’ which had his primary school written on it. In the video, Mahdhir also said that he had “randomly received a message on Facebook, saying that they have found something that used to belong to me”.
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What makes ‘Finding Mahdhir’ so effective and relatable to online users is how it stays away from using any gaudy effects or fortifying itself with melodramatic lines, but instead lets the emotions and actions of Mahdhir dictate the mood of the video as naturally as possible – by remembering memories. The video is authentic and speaks to anyone who can remember memories, in this case with one of the most fragile yet powerful things on Earth – a book.
Watch his response here; you are in for a heartwarming spectacle:
The Singapore Memory Project is still attempting to reunite books with their original owners. Thirty books have been published on the irememberSG Facebook page. The album’s description reads: “If one of these books used to belong to you, share your fondest memories here and we’ll get in touch to reunite you with this keepsake from the past.
“Or if you think you know the owner of one of these books, share this post with them! Have these stories moved you, once upon a time?enablejsapi=1&html5=1& Comment and share your memories with us.”
More than 100 comments were made on the ‘Finding Mahdhir’ video alone. Many Facebook users were impressed by the content and quality of the video. Michele Francisco said: “This is so touching … now I will keep the books that my kids have scribbled on. Thanks for sharing this video. I’m sure it has touched the hearts of many.”
Another viewer, Maslinda Ariffin added: “It is an overwhelming experience … it’s a priceless memory indeed … What a good effort done by NLB … Around that time about 30 years ago.. Books are not that affordable by everyone … especially those in Volumes … so they are more priceless … appreciated …”
Keen to view the books selected as part of the ‘Books that Moved Me’ campaign? Head down to the National Library from June 20 to August 31 this year to visit its special showcases!
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