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A NEW KNOWLEDGE ICON EMERGES IN THE
ARTS, CULTURE, LEARNING AND ENTERTAINMENT HUB |
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The new National Library is scheduled to open its
doors to the public in late July this year. It houses a rich and comprehensive
range of collections, services and facilities geared towards promoting
lifelong learning and supporting the nation’s information and knowledge needs. |
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Located at 100 Victoria Street, Singapore 188064,
the 16-storey building is situated in the heart of Singapore’s Arts, Culture,
Learning and Entertainment hub. |
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The new Library, with its expanded collections and
services, strives to be a modern knowledge hub that will meet the information
and research needs of scholars, professionals, researchers and students in
Singapore and the region. |
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“The re-opening of the National Library at its new
home is an important milestone in the developmental history of Singapore as it
is a key pillar in the nation’s evolution into a global cosmopolitan city of
excellence, powered by ideas and knowledge,” said Dr N Varaprasad, Chief
Executive of the National Library Board (NLB). |
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“The new building will feature better facilities
and services as well as a larger collection of materials for academics and
researchers in Singapore and Asia. In time, we hope the National Library will
be a place which inspires its users to create new knowledge, ignite their
imagination and realise new possibility. And I hope that the new National
Library will have the same place in the hearts of Singapore as the old one.” |
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With a gross floor area of over 58,000 sqm, the
new National Library is more than 5 times larger than the old National Library
at Stamford Road and plays home to a treasure trove of knowledge housing over
630,000 items. |
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The Singapore and Southeast Asian Collections,
which are the core collections of the new Library, comprises over 170,000
items made up of microfilms, maps, audio-visuals, ephemera and more including
works inherited from predecessor libraries such as the Raffles Library. Such
items, which were under the closed collections in the old National Library,
will now be openly available for public use. |
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Said Ms Ngian Lek Choh, Director of the National
Library and Deputy Chief Executive of the NLB, “The new Library will continue
the tradition of providing excellent reference and research services on or
about Singapore and the region. It aims to build its collections and services
so that the National Library becomes the premier stop for research needs on
Singapore, Southeast Asia and Asia.” |
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Reference Library1 |
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The crown jewel of the new National Library is the
reference library. Named the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library (LKCRL) to
commemorate the late Dr Lee Kong Chian, founder of the Lee Foundation, which
gave a $60 million donation towards the library, the Lee Kong Chian Reference
Library houses a range of collections including the Social Science,
Humanities, Science and Technology Collections, the Arts and Business
Collections, the Chinese, Malay and Tamil Collections, the Asian Children’s
Collection, the Donors’ Collections, the Singapore and Southeast Asian
Collections and a Rare Materials Collection. |
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More electronic resources will also be made
available through the NLB Digital Library at
www.nlb.gov.sg. Users will have access to a greater selection of images,
unpublished works of local authors, digitised rare materials and thematic
articles on Singapore’s heritage as well as digitised materials residing in
partner libraries such as the British Library. |
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In addition, the Digital Library will see an
expanded list of over 40 online databases, which will support the reference
library's focus on Singapore, South East Asia and Asia. Such databases include
the Bibliography of Asian Studies, Factiva, Asia Rom, China Infobank, REALIS (URA
Real Estate Information System) and the NLB-owned Singapore Infopedia, which
features topical information on the social and economic history of Singapore. |
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Lending Library2 |
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Complementing the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library
is the Central Lending Library. It focuses on visual, creative and literary
arts, as well as business and management, to support the thriving businesses,
art schools and groups, and residents in the area. The Central Lending Library
will also cater to a broader user group of children, the youth and adults,
with its extensive collection of mainstream materials and award winning
literature in all of the four official languages. |
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More Than Just Books |
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To support library users, there will be roving
librarians at the Central Lending Library and seamless on- and off-site
reference and enquiry services in the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library. |
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At present, library users can access the reference
services via a number of channels including approaching the reference
librarians at the various Information Desks conveniently located on the
reference library floors, and remotely through phone, fax, email and postal
mail. |
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There will also be self-help and interactive
kiosks as well as the cybrarian service for directional, lending and other
information or enquiries. In a bid to improve service levels, work is underway
to increase these access points for greater convenience. |
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In addition, there will be exhibitions and public
programmes to complement the various collections within the premises, weaving
interactivity into the overall learning experience. |
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A series of exhibitions to enrich the learning
experience of library users will be held at the exhibition gallery. The first
exhibition, entitled “Zheng He and Maritime Asia”, will tie in with the
upcoming Third International Conference of Institutes and Libraries for
Overseas Chinese, and is scheduled from 13 August 2005 to 10 February 2006. |
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It celebrates the 600th anniversary of the maiden
voyage of Admiral Zheng He, the legendary 15th Century Chinese explorer whose
ports-of-call include Malacca, Aceh, Calicut, Bengal and Hormuz, and will
feature ancient publications, maps, photographs, artifacts and more. |
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In addition, the National Library will also launch
a permanent exhibition on Singapore’s library heritage beginning from the
1800s, later this year. Admission to both exhibitions will be free. |
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Additional facilities for public use include
gardens, a café, the National Arts Council’s Drama Centre for public shows and
performances, and programme zones throughout the National Library for library
activities and exhibitions. |
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This includes an open plaza on the ground level,
which will be a hive of activity for the community. This plaza will be
accessible to the public 24 hours a day. The building will also house the
NLB’s corporate headquarters. |
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Experience the National Library via the Virtual
Flythrough |
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To give the public a glimpse of the new National
Library, students from the Singapore Polytechnic have created a Virtual
Flythrough of the new National Library. This 4-minute online video takes
viewers through several key areas in the library. The Virtual Flythrough can
be viewed online at www.nlb.gov.sg. |
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Source:
National Library Board Press Release 20
Apr 2005 |
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¹ The LKCRL provides research and reference
materials and services to researchers, academics, scholars, government
departments and other information seekers. |
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² The Central Lending Library is a public
lending library that caters to a broader user group of children, the youth and
adults. |
New National Library to open in July 2005
