Library@Orchard is designed for young adults between the age of 18 – 35. The Singapore Government conducted a survey on library use in 1998 and found that the young people in this age group stopped visiting the libraries after leaving school. The Government saw the need to encourage them to continue reading and learning. With this target group in mind, Library@Orchard was built in 1999 and designed as a lifestyle library that is hip and appealing to the crowd. The chosen site is a busy shopping mall at the heart of Orchard Road, which is where the youngsters hang out most. It has the mission to change the concept of library as a mere depository of books to a place where youngsters love to visit and read for pleasure.
The interior is tastefully furnished with aluminum shelves (not steel or wooden ones as in most libraries), and makes good contrasts of ovals and squares, glass and wood to enhance the aesthetics of the Library. Its glass walls permit passers-by to see through the Library from the outside and have the power to draw people in. The lighting is slightly dim to create a home-like environment. This would appeal to the youngsters who would like to be seen as part of the environment.
Besides the design, there are weekly programmes geared towards the interests of the young adults. The most famous of which is music@orchard in which popular bands are invited to play music in the Library's programme zone and the users could sing and dance with them. The programme zone is also provided with good quality coffee and snacks. Other programmes include IT@orchard and wellness@orchard, each emphasizing a subject appealing to the young people.
On the collection side, there is no reference books and children's literature. It also abandons the conventional Library of Congress Subject Headings. In its place are broad subject terms that are more intuitive and can facilitate browsing. There are about 130,000 books and more than 400 magazine titles that cater to the interests and hobbies of young adults such as cookery, recreation, arts & music, health & fitness.
Its multimedia facilities are outstanding. It has 10 multimedia stations which provide access to CD-ROMs, videos, the Internet and electronic databases, and are linked to Singapore One – the world's first nation-wide broadband network. It is also equipped with six audio booths, each furnished with seats and headphones, to let users enjoy their choice of music. It is also the only library to play piped-in music.
Library@orchard is daring in its aesthetics design and its mission to be a
library for the young people. All its collections, services, facilities
and interior design work towards this mission and promise a new library
experience for the users. It opens a whole new concept of public libraries
that the Hong Kong public library community could learn from.
Cafe/Library programme zone