The launching of the Tan Siu Lin PCC Library was graced by President Johnson Toribiong, Chairman of Tan Holdings Corporation Tan Siu Lin and his sons, Chairperson of the PCC Board of Trustees Bilung Gloria Salii, Taiwan Ambassador to Palau Maggie Tien, Koror High Chief Ibedul Yutaka Gibbons, as well as different principals of elementary schools in Palau, students and faculty members of PCC.
The library was named after the chairman of the Tan Holdings Corporation who donated $200,000 for the construction of the building.
In 2007, Tan Holdings Corporation donated $50,000 to PCC to celebrate the 35th year anniversary of its businesses in Micronesia. Upon learning that the money will be used by the college to start the construction of a new library, Tan Holdings Corporation added $150,000 to fund its completion. The construction began on January 5 last year.
Two floors of the new building contain the library, offices and a conference room, and the first floor holds the faculty and academic affairs offices.
PCC which was founded in 1969 as a two-year post-secondary vocational school has evolved into an accredited college by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. At present it has almost a thousand enrollees and offers Certificate of Completion, Certificate of Achievement, Associate in Science and Associate in Arts Degrees.
In their speeches, President Toribiong, Salii and Dr. Patrick Tellei, President of PCC, were all thankful for the generosity of the Tan family.
Salii said the Board was aware of the need to increase the library collection for many years now, so they adapted a policy to increase tuition to fund the construction of a new library. “However, that policy will take several years to raise money to fund the library,” she said.
Dr. Tellei said it would’ve taken them seven years to raise much-needed money for the construction of the library. “And we need three more years before we could’ve started the construction,” he said.
According to President Toribiong, “It’s my policy to promote investment to the economy of Palau, but I see nothing more important than investment for the education of our children.”
Tan, in return, shared his enthusiasm during the event, He said he’s confident that not only the students will be benefiting from this new library, but the entire community will also benefit from the output of the students.
