Tampines Regional Library is the first regional public library in Singapore. Originally sited along Tampines Avenue 7, it was officially opened on 3 December 1994. Tampines Regional Library functioned as a “prototype library” where new services and features were ...

Part-time branch libraries were started by the Raffles Library (renamed the National Library in 1960) to bring library services closer to the public in suburban areas. A total of eight part-time branch libraries were opened between 1953 and 1987, most of them situated ...

In support of Singapore’s educational and cultural development, part-time branch libraries were started by the Raffles Library in the 1950s, with the first of these set up at Upper Serangoon in 1953. Stocked with books for juniors and adults, such as dictionaries, ...

Between 1980 and 1995, the National Library embarked on the computerisation of its library operations and services. To keep abreast with the information technology (IT) revolution, new audiovisual, multimedia and online services were also launched. Decentralisation ...

Between 1960 and 1979, the National Library expanded its collections and diversified its services. The number of library members grew from 55,000 in 1963 to more than 322,000 by the end of March 1979. Key developments include the library moving beyond the promotion ...

The Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society was founded in November 1877 to research and document information relating to the Malay Peninsula and archipelago. It was formed by a group of colonial administrators in Singapore, and started with 150 members. Its ...

The Singapore Library, which grew out of the Singapore Institution Library, was established on 22 January 1845 as a library for the residents of Singapore. Initially occupying the north wing of the Singapore Institution (later renamed Raffles Institution), it was ...

The Queenstown Community Library located at 53 Margaret Drive, Singapore 149297, was opened on 2 May 1970. It was the first full-time Branch Library, built by the National Library in its plan to decentralise home reading services. It pioneered several firsts amongst ...

Bukit Merah Community Library, located at Bukit Merah Central, Singapore, was the fourth full-time Branch Library built by the National Library in its decentralised plan to bring library services nearer to people's homes. The Library is the first amongst the Branch ...

The National Library Building, located at 91 Stamford Road, officially opened on 12 November 1960. Between 1887 and 1960, the National Library had previously occupied the western wing of the Raffles Museum (now the National Museum of Singapore) at Stamford Road. ...

The Singapore Institution Library grew from a vision, by Sir Stamford Raffles, for an educated Singapore. Upon the founding of Singapore, one of Raffles’s early initiatives was the setting up of an institution of learning and along with it, the means to collect ...

Jurong Regional Library (JRL) located at 21 Jurong East Central 1, Singapore 609732, is the largest public library in Singapore and the third regional library after Woodlands Regional Library and Tampines Regional Library. First opened as Jurong East Community ...

The Marine Parade Community Library, opened on 10 November 1978, was the third full-time library built by the National Library under its plan to decentralise home reading services and to bring the Library nearer to the people. It was the first Branch Library to ...

The Southeast Asia (SEA) Collection is a significant collection of the National Library. It includes the Ya Yin Kwan Collection, the Rost Collection, the Gibson-Hill Collection and a wide range of early-19th-century literature. Its most valuable titles come from ...

The Singapore Chinese Physicians’ Association was founded in 1946 after World War II. Formerly known as the Singapore Chinese Medical Society, it is one of the largest traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) organisations in Singapore. It was established to provide ...

Located at 6 Toa Payoh Central, Singapore, Toa Payoh Community Library (previously known as Toa Payoh Branch Library), as it was then known, was opened on 7 February 1974. Equipped to serve about 250,000 residents in Toa Payoh, it was the second full-time branch ...

Library@Esplanade, officially opened on 12 September 2002, is Singapore's first performing arts library. It is located in the Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay building at 8 Raffles Avenue, #03-01, Singapore 039802. It is one of the few libraries in the world to ...

Ang Mo Kio Community Library was the fifth full-time branch library built by the National Library in its plans to bring library services nearer to the homes of the people. Located at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6, it provides lending and reference library services and reference ...

Library@Orchard, officially opened on 21 October 1999, is located on the fifth floor of the Ngee Ann City Shopping Mall, Podium Block, Tower B, at 391 Orchard Road, #05-22/26, Singapore 238872. It is the sixth rental library to be located in a shopping mall and ...

Founded in Calcutta, India by Robert Laidlaw in 1882, Whiteaway Laidlaw was a department store that opened a premier branch in Singapore in 1900. Offering products that appealed to the Europeans and wealthy locals, the outlet in Singapore was located on D’Almeida ...