The National Library & National Reference Library of Singapore

The National Library has its roots in the early 1820's when the idea of a public library was first mooted by Sir Stamford Raffles.  It has gradually evolved into a full-fledged  public library system under the management of the National Library Board (NLB).  Established on September 1, 1995, NLB oversees the three-tier library system -- the National Library at Stamford Road, two Regional Libraries, 18 Community Libraries, and 45 Community Children's Libraries.  It aims at serving 4.3 million people in Singapore with world-class libraries and thus, provides a cornerstone for the nation's knowledge-based economy.

Situated at Stamford Road, the National Library was opened in 1960 and presently houses the National Reference Library and the Central Community Library.  The modest low-rise building is laid out at the top of a landscaped garden terrace with steps leading up to its main entrance. Along the road, shady tropical trees and swaying palms seemed to extend a warm welcome to us.  When we entered the foyer of the Library, we were impressed by the wide application of modern information technology.  There are a large number of self-check out machines using RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology and borrower enquiry stations to check on the borrower's information, to renew books and pay for fines, etc.

On the right hand side of the entrance hall is the Central Community Library.  It houses the general lending collection in four official languages for adults, teenagers and children.  Straight ahead of the foyer is an open courtyard garden featuring a café and a Renaissance-styled fountain.  The serenity of the courtyard creates an ideal atmosphere for afternoon tea, outdoor chat or simply for relaxation.

To the left is the General Reference Centre 1 of the National Reference Library.  The National Reference Library houses a number of important reference collections, including language reference collection in Chinese, Malay and Tamil, university calendars and prospectuses, and student reference collection for 10 to 19 year olds.  A cybrarian enquiry booth is set up where users can make phone calls to the on-duty reference librarian.  Multimedia services like access to the Internet, online databases, and CD-ROMs are available.  One of the online databases is  InfoXpress.  Self-developed by the National Library, InfoXpress is a searchable database of frequently asked reference questions on Singapore, with citations to resources including web sites.

One of the key initiatives launched by NLB in September 2001 was the eLibraryHub. It is a sophisticated library portal providing a one-stop integrated digital library to users.  Users can search, organize and stock up resources according to their interests.  For details, please visit:  http://www.elibraryhub.com/default.asp

On the second floor, we find the General Reference Centre 2.  It consists of the Information Centre, Current Affairs Centre, Singapore Resource Centre, and Business Information Service Centre.  The Information Centre offers on-site reference and advisory services.  Within the staff office, a centralized remote enquiry service known as Reference Point is offered by a team of four library staff who are busy answering users' questions via telephone, fax, email, Internet, and post.

The Current Affairs Centre provides the latest information from current affairs materials, such as newspapers and periodicals.  In addition to local newspapers, it holds approximately 60 foreign newspapers and some 800 periodicals from other regions.

The Singapore Resource Centre has collected 49, 000 volumes on Singapore and its people.  It also stocks selected materials on Southeast Asia.  Its Heritage Room contains more than 3,000 items with the majority published before 1900.

To access the Business Information Service Centre (BIS), users have to pay a walk-in fee of S$5 per day and S$0.08 per minute to search the online databases.  The Centre is small in size but is equipped with valuable print and electronic resources including Reuters Business Briefings, ProQuest Direct, Nexis.com, and many more.

The Multimedia Centre of the National Reference Library is located on the first floor.  Dedicated terminals offer users a choice of videos, laser discs, DVDs, CDs, multimedia CD-ROMs, cassettes and access to the Internet.  Users pay for the services by CashCard (like Octopus in Hong Kong) which is part of NLB's efforts to automate payment processing.  All transactions at the NLB libraries can only be settled by CashCard.

Outside the Multimedia Centre is an exhibition entitled "The National Library – A New Chapter."  It keeps the public informed of the progress of the new National Library.  The National Library will move to a new site at Victoria Street.  The present premise at Stamford Road will be demolished in 2003 to make way for the Singapore Management University.

The new National Library will be the largest library in Singapore and is estimated to cost S$200 million dollars.  The new 10-storey building will cover an area of 60,000 square metres, six times larger than the present premise.  It is planned to house the National Reference Library, the Central Regional Library and the NLB headquarters.  Tentatively, the Central Regional Library, which loans out its books, will be on the basement level.  Reference libraries will occupy four floors, and these will include specialized collections on business, arts and social sciences.  In addition, there will be open areas for outdoor reading, retail outlets, an exhibition hall, a computer laboratory, conference rooms and a 400-seat auditorium.  To reflect its historical significance and create a modern outlook, the new National Library will be named National Library@SINGAPORE.  For more updates on the new National Library, please visit the NLB's homepage: http://www.lib.gov.sg/
 

Reported by Sandra Mow


Central Community Library

Self check-out unit

Courtyard garden