A New Chapter

July 22, 2005 marks the beginning of a new era and a new milestone in the history of the National Library. We closed the chapter on the National Library at Stamford Road in April 2004 and now, just over a year later, we are ready to re-open the National Library at 100 Victoria Street in July 2005.

For many years, the National Library at Stamford Road had been serving our general public and researcher community in meeting their needs for reference materials. Many of our users have fond memories of the time they spent in the library, whether for the purpose of doing serious research, or meeting a friend or colleague to discuss a topic of interest.

In the early 1980s, the National Library was experiencing a shortage of space in accommodating more users and collections, and a proposal was submitted to the government to either extend or rebuild the library to facilitate the growth in collections and services. Serious planning and design work started in 1996 when the budget for a new library was approved by the government.

As there was inadequate space in the old Library to house all the collections that we had acquired through the years, one of the most challenging tasks facing librarians then was to make decisions on which materials were to be for open access and which to send to the warehouse for storage.

With this new Library, we are pleased to say that we are able to bring out almost the whole collection of some 500,000 items acquired over the past 47 years, and house them in this spanking new building. These include all materials published in Singapore that we have acquired under the legal deposit act, valuable collections that were donated to the National Library over the years, and some 5,000 rare titles, many issued by Singapore’s earliest printing presses in the 1800s. Some of these materials are accessible through the digital library or microfilms. Others will be available upon request.

This, I feel, is the most important outcome we have achieved, to ensure that you, our valued customer has access to as much of the materials that we have painstakingly selected for you.

Many of these will be new to you, as it is the first time we are making these materials accessible. I hope you will make full use of the wide range of materials that we have put together for you, and make the National Library your firststop of call whenever you need to do reference or research into any particular area.

As the National Library re-opens its doors to the public, we take this opportunity to highlight to you some of the collections and services available, and to bring to you a glimpse of the many programmes and events scheduled to take place at the new Library through this library journal. This quarterly journal will provide a regular update on news and events at the library to inform the public, practitioners and academics. This journal is meant specifically for you, the Library user and we hope that you find it informative and interesting.

The re-opening of the Library is indeed a momentous event in the history of modern Singapore and the National Library. We invite you to be part of our history and to take part in the festivities, events and programmes organised for you.

We look forward to seeing you at the Library!

Ngian Lek Choh (Ms)
Director
National Library