SINGAPORE: On a weekday morning at the Ang Mo Kio library, seats in the two-storey building are half-filled. Elderly patrons scroll on their phones, young adults work on laptops and others read quietly or nap in the cool air-conditioning.
Despite the whir of nearby construction outside, calm prevails in the library.
“Here is very quiet, the ambience is very good,” said retiree Seak Teik Song, 72, who visits the library to borrow books, read e-newspapers or use the computer.
“When it goes to AMK Hub, it might not be so,” he added, comparing it to the Serangoon library at Nex shopping mall, which he also visits regularly. “It becomes like a marketplace.”
The Ang Mo Kio library will move to the nearby AMK Hub in 2026, the National Library Board (NLB) said on Jul 1. The current site the library stands on, along Avenue 6, is earmarked for a healthcare facility.
The library is one of several standalone libraries that will be relocated to shopping malls or integrated complexes in the coming years.
The Geylang East library will shift to Tanjong Katong Complex in 2030 and the Toa Payoh library will become part of a new integrated development expected to be completed the same year. Similarly, Jurong Regional Library is slated to move to an integrated transport hub in 2028.
Currently, 13 of NLB’s 28 public libraries are in malls, while a handful are housed in integrated complexes such as community centres. Once the relocations are complete, the conserved Queenstown library and the Bishan library will remain among the few standalone libraries in Singapore.
IMPROVED ACCESS, HIGHER FOOTFALL
In response to CNA’s queries, NLB said library sites are selected in reference to the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s land use plans, with easy access to MRT stations and bus interchanges.
“By siting our libraries at convenient locations, at least 80 per cent of the resident population stays within 15 minutes (by public transport) of a public library. This allows Singapore residents to visit their favourite libraries ‘at their doorstep’,” an NLB spokesperson said.
MP Tin Pei Ling, who appealed to NLB to reconsider its decision to relocate the Geylang East library, said the agency cited significantly higher visitorship for libraries located in malls.
“This is because of the synergy with other activities in a shopping mall,” said the Marine Parade-Braddell Heights MP in a Facebook post on Jul 2. “Therefore … NLB’s strategy is to move standalone libraries to shopping malls when the opportunities come about.”
