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The National Library Board (NLB) is a statutory board under the purview of the Ministry of Digital Development and Information of the
government of Singapore The government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of Singapore, Constitution of the Republic of Singapore to consist of the President of Singapore, President and the Executive. Executive authority of Singapore is vested in the Presi ...
. The board manages the
public libraries ''Public Libraries'' is the official publication of the Public Library Association (PLA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). It is devoted exclusively to public libraries. The print edition is published six times a year and i ...
throughout the country. The national libraries of Singapore house books in all four official languages of Singapore: English, Chinese, Malay and
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
. Other than paper books, the libraries also loans
CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains computer data storage, data computers can read, but not write or erase. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold b ...
s, DVD-ROMs,
VCD Video CD (abbreviated as VCD, and also known as Compact Disc Digital Video), (not to be confused with CD Video which is a type of LaserDisc, Laserdisc) is a home video format and the first format for distributing films on standard optical di ...
s, video cassettes,
audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sch ...
s on CDs, magazines and periodicals,
DVD-video DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVDs. DVD-Video was the dominant consumer home video format in most of the world in the 2000s. As of 2024, it competes with the high-definition Blu-ray Disc, while both rece ...
s,
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
s and music CDs. Its flagship institution, the National Library, Singapore, is based on Victoria Street.


History

Although the NLB was first formed on 1 September 1995, its history had begun way back in the 1820s when
Stamford Raffles Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British Colonial Office, colonial official who served as the List of governors of the Dutch East Indies, governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816 and lieut ...
first proposed the idea of establishing a
public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...
. This library was to evolve into the
National Library of Singapore The National Library is the flagship national library of Singapore. A subsidiary of the National Library Board (NLB), it is located on an 11,304–square metre site in Victoria Street, Singapore, Victoria Street within the Downtown Core. It i ...
in 1960, before expanding into the suburbs with the setting up of branch libraries in the various
new towns A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...
throughout the country.


Library 2000

In 1995, when the NLB took over the duties of the National Library of Singapore, it was also entrusted with bringing to reality the findings of the Library 2000 Review Committee, set up in June 1992 to review the public library system. This committee, headed by
Tan Chin Nam Dato' Tan Chin Nam (; 18 March 1926 – 21 October 2018) was a Malaysian entrepreneur and developer. His family is the majority shareholder of IGB Corporation Berhad. Tan was reportedly one of the richest men in Malaysia and had several comp ...
, considered the role of
information technology Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...
in contemporary library services for the next decade, with the aims of #Establishing Singapore as an international information hub; #Preserving and promoting Singapore's literary heritage; #Providing for education, knowledge and research; #And promoting a well-read and well-informed society. The committee also took into consideration the library needs of public library users in general, the linguistic needs of an increasingly
bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...
populace, the catering to the needs of professions who require extensive information databases, and the establishment of the library as a nucleus of national culture and heritage. After a year-long review, the Committee published their findings on 5 March 1994, which calls for six "strategic thrusts", which are #An Adaptive Public Library System #A Network of Borderless Libraries #A Coordinated National Collection Strategy #Quality Service Through Market Orientation #Symbiotic Linkages With Business And Community #A Global Knowledge Arbitrage In addition, the report also speaks of three "key enablers" to bring about these changes, which are #the setting up of a new statutory board #staff development, and the #exploiting of new technology. The NLB was thus formed as a result of this Report. The NLB implements initiatives arising from the Report's recommendations. The National Library Board has changed their logo to celebrate their 30 anniversery.


Controversy

In July 2014, the NLB announced that it was pulping three children's books, ''
And Tango Makes Three ''And Tango Makes Three'' is a children's book written by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson and illustrated by Henry Cole which was published in 2005. The book tells the story of two male penguins, Roy and Silo, who create a family together. ...
'', ''The White Swan Express'', and ''Who's in My Family?'', following a user's complaint that the books' homosexual themes did not promote
family values Family values, sometimes referred to as familial values, are traditional or cultural values that pertain to the family's structure, function, roles, beliefs, attitudes, and ideals. Additionally, the concept of family values may be understood ...
. In protest, several poets and writers resigned from the
Singapore Writers Festival The Singapore Writers Festival is a literary event organised by the National Arts Council. Inaugurated in 1986, the festival serves a dual function of promoting new and emerging Singaporean and Asian writing to an international audience, as well ...
and the
Singapore Literature Prize The Singapore Literature Prize (abbreviation: SLP) is a biennial award in Singapore to recognise outstanding published works by Singaporean authors in any of the four official languages: Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil. The competition is organis ...
, while several boycotted a panel discussion hosted by the NLB. A petition was signed by 3,800 signatories to reinstate the books or relocate the books to a different section, while another petition supporting the NLB's decision was signed by 26,000. A group supporting the reinstating of the affected books organised an event called "Let's Read Together" at the atrium of the
National Library A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public library, public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, ...
, where members of the public could bring books of any content to read along with a penguin stuffed toy, drawing 250 people on 13 July 2014. Communications and Information Minister
Yaacob Ibrahim Yaacob bin Ibrahim ( Jawi: ; born 3 October 1955) is a Singaporean former People's Action Party politician who served as minister-in-charge of Muslim affairs between 2002 and 2018, minister for community development, youth and sports between ...
later instructed the NLB to place ''
And Tango Makes Three ''And Tango Makes Three'' is a children's book written by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson and illustrated by Henry Cole which was published in 2005. The book tells the story of two male penguins, Roy and Silo, who create a family together. ...
'' and ''The White Swan Express'' in the adult section instead of pulping them; ''Who's in My Family?'' had already been pulped. The NLB also later announced that book selection and review processes would be refined.


See also

*
List of libraries in Singapore This is a list of libraries in Singapore: National libraries These libraries are managed by the National Library Board. * National Library, Singapore * Lee Kong Chian Reference Library *National Reference Library (former) Regional libraries * ...
* Asian Children's Festival


References


External links


Official site
{{Authority control Statutory boards of the Singapore Government 1995 establishments in Singapore Government agencies established in 1995