library@orchard

library@orchard

library@orchard (Chinese: 乌节图书馆) is a public library under the National Library Board (NLB) of Singapore. It was first located on Level 5 of Ngee Ann City on Orchard Road, in the Central Area of Singapore. It is currently located on Levels 3 and 4 of Orchard Gateway on Orchard Road.

library@orchard was first opened by Lee Yock Suan, Minister for Information and the Arts, on 21 October 1999. It was closed on 30 November 2007 and reopened on 23 October 2014, by Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Communications and Information.

History

Establishment

Created as a boutique library, library@orchard, together with library@esplanade, was used as a test bed for NLB to introduce new services and products which could then be adapted for future projects. The library's location within the Orchard Road shopping belt was intended to attract the youth segment of the population.

library@orchard was created based on feedback in the National Reading Survey. Initially, the NLB had concerns about setting up a library that catered only to young adults as they were used to libraries that served everyone—from children to senior citizens. However, this uncertainty was assuaged after NLB's development team discussed the concept with focus groups made up of its target customers—young adults.

library@orchard became popular with young adults. Its success paved the way for more innovations, such as the music@orchard series of programmes that saw rap artistes and rock bands entertaining huge crowds. Another innovation was comics@orchard where comics went on loan in Singapore's public libraries for the first time. At its peak, the library had 120,000 items, with more than 33% of its total collection comprising English language novels.[1]

With an appealing ambiance, and the presence of music booths and a café, library@orchard managed to double its outreach since its establishment, with an average of more than 1.4 million visitors per year.

The success of the first niche library developed for a specific audience led NLB to set up Singapore's first public performing arts library—the library@esplanade at Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay.

Closure and relocation

On 25 July 2007, the National Library Board announced that library@orchard will be closed on 30 November 2007 because the lease on the premises at Ngee Ann City would not be renewed. It was subsequently closed on that date.

Macquarie Pacific Star Prime Reit Management, which handled the library's lease, stated that the board paid rent that was below prevailing market rates for the 1,580 square metre (17,000 square feet) space. NLB had been told in March 2005 that the lease would not be renewed when it expires in February 2008. The vacated space would house fashion, beauty and wellness retailers. Rents in the Orchard Road shopping belt had increased 5-7% in the first half of 2007, and was estimated to go up by another 5-6% by end 2007.

To mark the relocation of library@orchard, NLB held a series of public events and programmes, such as exhibitions, film screenings, talks and even "live" performances by local bands and musicians, in the months leading to the closure. A "Moving On" party was then held on the closure date.[2][3]

Re-opening

The library@orchard re-opened on 23 October 2014 at Orchard Gateway, a new shopping mall built at the site of the old Specialists' Shopping Centre. The new library is slightly bigger than its predecessor at 1,700 square metres and spans two floors of the mall, described as The Studio and The Loft.[4] 45% of the 100,000 item collection focuses on design and the NLB worked with students and lecturers from Singapore Polytechnic to develop ideas for the branch, focused as it is on young adults.[5]

Notes

  1. ↑ Eunice Quek, Kok Tse Wei (2 July 2005). "How the libraries stack up". The Straits Times. p. S6.
  2. ↑ "The library@orchard to close". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
  3. ↑ Aviel Tan (26 July 2007). "library@orchard to close as lease runs out". The Straits Times.
  4. ↑ "Yes! library@orchard is coming back!". National Library Board. 13 November 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  5. ↑ "Library@orchard returns with a chic look and a collection focused on design". The Straits Times. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2015.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to National Library Board#Library@orchard.

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