Singapore National Library

In the country of Singapore, the Singapore National Library which is located between Bugis Junction and the Bras Basah Complex is known to be the new building which has replaced the old National Library situated at Stamford Road since July 2005. For the current building of the Singapore National Library, the total size of the site where two of the 16 storey blocks for the library is located falls around 11,304 square meter.

For a brief history of the Singapore National Library, traces of the establishment of the National Library can be found during the period of time where the first public library of Singapore was built following the suggestion of Sir Stamford Raffles. The first public library named Hullett Memorial Library was built in Singapore’s first school, the Raffles Institution. Later on in the year 1887, the library was moved to a separate Library and Museum Building as a part of the Raffles Museum. In the year 1960, the library was then again moved to another location which is at the Stamford Road premises and the library was renamed to the National Library of Singapore. When Singapore gained its independence at the year 1965, branches of the National Library was built in other suburbs areas under a joint collaboration with the city’s urban planner.

For the new building of the Singapore National Library, it consist of two 16 storey blocks with three basements and for the two blocks, it is linked by a sky bridge on every floor. Within these two blocks, two separate libraries are housed and these libraries include the Central Lending Library and as well as the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library. Aside from these two libraries, the Drama Centre which is managed by the National Arts Council is also located within the building. In order to cultivate a more tranquil environment, there are quite a few gardens within the building though however, only two of the gardens are opened to the public and within these two gardens, panaromic view outside the library buildings can be enjoyed by everyone. For the National Library Board, the headquarters of the board is located high above the building, which is on the 14th floor of the library.

The Singapore National Library prides itself with the fact that the Central Lending Library has the largest collection of fiction books in the whole of the country where until today the library has collected more than 200,000 different categories of books. Aside from the Central Lending Library, the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library also has a huge amount of reference materials collected. To date, the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library has a collection of more than 530,000 printed and non printed reference materials. In order to provide further service to the public, the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library also has a range of other facilities such as access to electronic databases, document delivery service, microfilm, reprography and audio-visual materials. For the Drama Centre which is managed by the Singapore Arts Council, the Drama Centre has a 615 seating capacity theatre, a black box and as well as three multi purpose function rooms. In addition to that, with its state of the art lighting and audio visual systems, some of the performing arts in Singapore are held here in the Drama Centre attracting countless viewers.

Singapore National Library Official Website

http://www.nlb.gov.sg/

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