Criteria for Setting-up of Public Library

Ms Sun Xueling asked the Minister for Communications and Information (a) what are the planning parameters for the setting up of a library in a district; and (b) what steps are being taken to make accessibility to books more convenient for residents to enable them to pick up books on the go.

Madam, the National Library Board (NLB) aims to make libraries as accessible as possible to Singapore residents, using a network of 26 libraries, including three regional libraries.

Library locations are planned with reference to the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA's) land use masterplan. NLB seeks to locate in a planning area where the population size has a minimum threshold of 150,000 residents. In addition, NLB looks for convenient locations, either within or near town centres, or in shopping malls with easy access to the mass rapid transit (MRT) stations and bus interchanges. This allows Singapore residents to visit their favourite libraries "at their doorstep".

The three regional libraries house larger collections and offer enhanced services for specific segments like seniors, teenagers or young children. For example, a resident from Sembawang can regularly visit the nearby Sembawang Public Library and head to the Woodlands Regional Library for a more specialised service, such as IT programmes for seniors offered at its Silver InfoComm Junction.

The 26 public libraries are complemented by over 120 reading corners in community spaces and pre-schools across the island. These include reading corners at 11 Senior Activity Centres. Project Deliver Me and the Mobile Library (MOLLY) buses are two further initiatives through which NLB brings library content and services to the underserved. Project Deliver Me, in particular, delivers books to those who are less mobile and hence find it difficult to leave their homes.

Beyond the physical libraries, reading corners and mobile library services, NLB has also made it easy for Singapore residents to access our services on the go. NLB started introducing self-pick-up reservation lockers in 2014. They are now offered at three libraries – Orchard, Sembawang and Pasir Ris. And, Madam, there are plans to expand this to all branches by 2017.

NLB also offers digital library services. It currently offers a collection of over four million e-books which are easily accessible through its website or the NLB mobile app.

NLB will continue to monitor population and usage trends so as to optimise its library locations and digital services, and to serve the needs of Singaporeans better.

I thank the Minister and would like to enquire, in new estates like Punggol where there are sizeable numbers of residents, especially those with young children, would the Ministry consider having temporary libraries so that we do not lose the opportunity to inculcate the love of reading for children at a young age? My second question is that the process of selecting books, sometimes, is as informative as reading a book itself. Would NLB consider making available more synopsis and recommendations so that users can acquire knowledge even as they are picking up a book?

Madam, to the second question, we do that. What the library staff will do is that as and when new collections come into their possession, a review would be done and written up, and this is made accessible, as I had mentioned earlier, on the NLB website. In fact, if you go to the Orchard Road Library, there are panels where we put up new books with a bit of a description as to what each book is all about. We will continue to curate content in such a way to attract new users to our libraries. If you were to look at our mobile app, there will be short excerpts about some of the books that you may be interested in.

To the first question, unfortunately, the answer is that interim or temporary libraries will not be set up. The reason is that there is a nearby library called the Cheng San Public Library. Having said that, there may be communities that are interested in setting up their own community library, as had happened in Sengkang. The volunteers in Sengkang decided to set up a community library as the renovations are taking place at the Sengkang Public Library. NLB is prepared to assist any community group which is prepared to take the lead in setting up their own library corners or libraries to serve the needs of their residents.