With political backing and an inventive spirit, Singapore's public libraries have vaulted forward

In the shopping-mad, tropical city-state of Singapore, neon-clad malls line Orchard Road, the downtown retail center. The Ngee Ann City mall boasts stores like Cartier and Chanel; on the fifth floor, the top shopping level, the library@orchard anchors one corner. With snazzy glass, steel, and wood fixtures, it could be an upscale bookstore. Before noon on an October weekday, the crowd is a mix of older teens and adults. They pick up graphic novels, browse the 'just returned' section, put on headphones at streaming audio stations, and lounge in the café next to the magazine display. Signs promote musical performances, health lectures, and a poetry discussion. Only nine workers, three of them librarians, staff each shift; the branch circulated 1.2 million items in 2002. Patrons check out all books themselves, thanks to RFID (radio frequency identification) technology, and pay fines and fees with a cash card, ubiquitous in Singapore. Conspicuously absent are kids; the library, open since October 1999, has no children's section. That's the plan. One of several innovative branches, the library@orchard —aimed at the hard-to-reach 18–35 demographic—exemplifies the National Library Board's (NLB) ambitious, audacious plan to upgrade once-moribund library service (see www.nlb.gov.sg). Since 1995, the system has grown to 23 public libraries—two regionals, 20 community libraries, and the National Library, nearly all trying out new services. They've achieved statistical leaps: annual visits from 5.7 million to 31 million; loans from ten million to 32 million; and inquiries from 50,000 to 1.8 million. The main patron complaint: noise. 'We don't get people complaining about service quality or about our collections any more,' crows Chief Executive Christopher Chia. The achievements place Singapore—3.5 times the area of Washington, DC, with 3.4 million citizens and permanent residents—on par with the busiest North American library systems, though, as Chia is quick to point out, none are so efficient. Indeed, NLB now manages 90 sites—including junior college, government, and special libraries—but spends less than twice as much on staff as materials. Moreover, NLB collects in Singapore's four official languages: English (the lingua franca and 70 percent of the collection), Mandarin, Malay, and Tamil. Some 77 percent of Singaporeans are of Chinese origin, 14 percent Malay, and eight percent Indian. While the library rode a budget boost, its success owes more to empowering its staff, learning from retail, and pushing the technology envelope. The NLB, which operates for-profit subsidiaries and relies on many nonlibrarians—a not uncontroversial practice—has adopted, in Chia's words, the 'organizational paradigms…of an enterprising private sector corporation.' No wonder Singapore's libraries have become a must-see for visitors from the business and political realms as well as librarians.

Libraries came second

Libraries came late to Singapore—until the country's leaders saw the economic link. At the southern tip of the Malaysian peninsula, Singapore, a former British colony, became independent in 1965. The challenge, in a land with no natural resources, was to drive Singapore 'from Third World to First,' as locals say. Thanks to government intervention, Singapore became the region's economic hub: not just the port it had been but a manufacturing, oil refining, and banking center. A downtown skyline rose. Slums were supplanted by functional, high-rise apartments. Progress has had, to many Western observers, high costs: while Singapore's ban on chewing gum (recently relaxed) and practice of caning miscreants fueled headlines, the government has unapologetically curbed civil liberties. To the casual visitor, Singapore hardly feels like a police state but remains a 'nanny state': signs in bathrooms urge hygiene, and taxi drivers cackle at the notion they might cheat anyone. Library service lagged—only 12 percent of the population were regular users, reported the government's Library 2000 study team, formed in 1992. The government agreed to devote $1 billion, or nearly $600 million USD, to build a world-class library system to 'expand the learning capacity of the nation.' Chia, a veteran of the National Computer Board with a doctorate in computation, was chosen to head the newly formed NLB. He and staffers traveled the world to learn about library spaces, programs, and collections. For technology, they took cues from retail and also high-tech Singapore. NLB quickly ramped up. It gave its staff computers and email, began library Internet access, and chose a CARL automation system. In 1996, it began reference service at community libraries and built its first shopping mall library. As more libraries were opened and renovated, collections and circulation grew—but the time in queues to check out books reached an hour. That's why NLB became the world's first library to fully deploy RFID technology for self-checkout (see 'To and from the Shelves,' p. 45). The library revolution even prompted a 2001 case study from the Harvard Business School and has attracted the attention of U.S. librarians,' LJ 11/1/02, p. 44–47). NLB representatives draw crowds at IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) conferences. In April, R. 'Rama' Ramachandran, the NLB's longtime deputy chief executive, will become IFLA's new secretary general—the first head from outside Europe. He'll bring experience with a public and national library—and developed/developing library service—in Singapore and the region. (see Ramachandran interview .)

Every library a prototype

'We are interested in pushing the limits of what a library is about,' says Assistant Chief Executive Ngian Lek Choh, who joined NLB in 1977 with a physics degree, then earned a library degree. Anchoring Singapore's northwest, the Woodlands Regional Library, with 4.6 million visitors in 2002, draws crowds daily before it opens. The four-story structure inside a civic center, nearly 120,000 square feet, houses 500,000 books. One floor serves reference, another children. It has the system's only full-time children's librarians; at other facilities, librarians do double duty. For décor (over 100 local art pieces) and programming, its theme is nature/ecology—owing to its proximity to the zoo. By April, the Jurong East community library will be reborn as a third regional library; one of four floors will be devoted entirely to teenagers, with a volunteer teenage management committee. Elsewhere, three branches have been designated prototypes for Malay, Chinese, and Tamil collections. Another offers fitness test equipment. Planners at the Esplanade, Singapore's new performing arts complex, asked NLB for a branch. At library@esplanade, classical music issues from a 'self-playing grand piano.' A gallery occupies a center stage, and for CD listening, the library has installed car radios in a wall—they're easily replaced if broken. Given the size of the local performing arts audience, 'we had to make it very 'lifestyle' in its look and feel,' says branch manager David Lie, a former arts librarian at the State University of New York at Purchase. The library is organized into four 'villages,' for video, dance, music, and theater. Groups and families can rent screening rooms; a practice room with an upright piano is not soundproofed. 'We're experimenting with minimal noise,' says Lie. Similarly, libraries leave program zones partly open.

Spreading the word

West of downtown, on a Friday afternoon, library brass and local dignitaries celebrate the renovation at Queenstown, the system's oldest branch, built in 1970. A Member of Parliament is the guest speaker—NLB always invites a VIP, which spurs press coverage. During his speech, images flash of the NLB's first in-house digitization project: Singapore Pages, with 38 books from the British Library and 38 from NLB's own collection. Banners with kids and grandparents illustrate Queenstown's intergenerational theme. There's another innovation: because headphones can be tough to clean and maintain, a 'listening dome' supplies music. At the branch, NLB debuts an online map to tell users where to find the book they seek. Still, the map can't ensure the book will be there. That might be solved with 'really smart shelves,' enabled by RFID technology, another retail innovation, once the cost goes down.

Deploying technology

Cutting-edge experiments abound. One allows book returns at downtown office buildings, an effort to attract the 50 percent of cardholders who are not regular users. As with most of its projects, cost-conscious NLB has engaged eager partners—a bank and a technology company. Given the number of staff, it may not be easy to get in-person readers' advisory service, but E-Library Hub, NLB's digital library, is set up to deliver personalized and peer recommendations. Indeed, such service is a focus for Chia, who has studied personalization as a member of the Bertelsmann Foundation's International Network of Public Libraries. Managers willingly recount failed experiments. When Woodlands opened, wandering reference librarians wielded notebook computers. However, wireless access proved spotty, so that was dropped. Last September, NLB, in concert with Singapore Telecommunications, began offering wireless access in all 23 public libraries—and SingTel customers can now buy digital library content. In a few areas, NLB trails. While it does offer email reference service, it's still testing live chat. A separate kids' catalog is emerging. And while NLB years ago tested its own Amazon-like catalog, with covers and content, it was stymied by intellectual property issues.

National Library

The National Reference Library, opened in 1960, is a modest icon, a low-slung building near Orchard Road. Even though a successor was planned, NLB renovated it in 1997–98, doubling usable space by relocating back office functions and restoring a courtyard—which became the system's first café. The library now offers a reference center and reference collections, a business center, and a Singapore Resource Centre, plus dozens of computers. A community library features general collections. Several blocks away, at a construction site emblazoned with the words 'Knowledge. Imagination. Possibility,' a grand ten-story National Library will open in September 2005. It will cost about $120 million USD—with nearly one-third coming from a foundation— and house reference and research collections. It will focus on business, the arts, national languages, and Singapore materials. An events plaza, auditorium, and retail spaces will draw visitors, as will NLB's fourth and final regional library.

Paying a little extra

Basic NLB membership is free, allowing cardholders to borrow up to four books at a time. (With RFID, loans get canceled as a book goes into the book drop.) Premium membership, introduced in 1999, costs about $12 USD and permits borrowing eight items, including nonprint media like videos or CD-ROMs. Borrowers are charged for damage, so testing stations are provided. Of 2.3 million members, only 35,000 pay the premium, as few use the library to get movies. Video plays a smaller role than in many North American systems, as NLB collects classics but not new commercial releases. Children's books represent more than half of circulation. The fee—indicating a very different philosophy than in North American libraries—serves more to regulate system use than to build revenue. Many other library services bear small costs: renewals, reserves, use of a computer, and searches on some online databases. A number of resources on E-Library Hub require payment. Patrons also pay small fees to use 20 Community Children's Libraries (CCLs), which operate in the ground floor space of housing projects. A curious hybrid, CCLs are funded and staffed by the PAP Community Foundation, the charitable arm of the hugely dominant political party, with NLB guidance.

Collections and censorship

A public library in Singapore has a wide range of English-language books, such as U.S. best sellers and classics, though a community library fiction section includes a significant number of mass market paperbacks. NLB collections, according to Ngian, derive from both 'the reading interests of the nation' and some government nudges, such as support for life sciences. That does not include much outreach to the 800,000 temporary residents, including many maids from Indonesia and the Philippines. The library also must kowtow to Singapore's laws, which require censorship of some PG-rated videos. In a country more squeamish about sex than violence, the government symbolically censors 100 web sites. The library additionally filters Internet access. Amazon.com's best-selling book in Singapore is John and May Chu Harding's Escape from Paradise (IDK Pr., 2001), a memoir about a financial scandal. While NLB once held 25 copies, now there is one, for restricted use only, and the authors blame political pressure. Neither Escape nor Australian academic Ross Worthington's critical Governance in Singapore (RoutledgeCurzon, 2003) remain for sale in Singapore. NLB holds one copy, for reference use only, of the latter.

The entrepreneurial sphere

Singapore has only a few more public libraries to build, Chia says, but NLB will manage many more libraries—perhaps 600 in eight years–on behalf of corporations and public sector organizations. The infrastructure is in place. A look at NLB's organizational chart (e.g., Business Group, Management Services Group) shows its reach. Private subsidiaries provide training, manage information technology services, and sell books. NLB even manages the Speak Good English Movement, a government-spurred effort to cure Singaporeans of their colloquial shortcuts. Choy Fatt Cheong, head of the Library Association of Singapore, cautions that NLB's business orientation may sacrifice the user perspective. He cites NLB's fee-based One Learning Place (OLP), which not only performs IT training but aims to bridge the digital divide; some of those services in North American libraries would be free. Choy served three two-year terms on the NLB board, but now there's no voice for the profession in that group. A trainer and teacher, Choy says NLB has boosted libraries greatly, but he worries about deprofessionalization; for example outsourcing cataloging means poor quality control. 'It's an unhealthy trend to have a monopoly,' he says of NLB's plans. NLB's internal efforts at innovation have also spawned exportable expertise. 'Ask Stupid Questions' began as an effort to get staffers to shed the inhibitions of 'face.' Now NLB runs such seminars for other agencies, with hosts like Gene Tan, Chia's assistant and program director of the Human Capital Group.

Professionals

Chia describes NLB as an 'open market for professionals.' Indeed, a library degree is not required to run libraries (though it is an 'advantage'). New graduates in other fields are typically sponsored for a master's degree at NLB's expense. Currently, about one-third of NLB staff hold college degrees (two-thirds with library degrees), one-third are paraprofessionals, and one-third are shelvers. Singapore had no home-grown library degree until 1996, when NLB helped a local university create a master's degree program. Within the next decade, Chia expects 60 percent of the staff to hold master's degrees, with a 'very thin sliver of paraprofessionals' and the rest shelvers. 'We will continue to have a huge need for basic subject expertise.' Starting salaries for librarians, once the lowest-paid public servants in Singapore, have been boosted 30 percent since 1995 and compare well to those of teachers. NLB spends a healthy four percent of its staff budget on training, including customer service workshops for all. Work on common projects has forged ties between librarians and those from other backgrounds. Now NLB serves as a beacon, signing collaboration agreements with libraries around the world, especially those in ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). Some ASEAN libraries hire NLB in a consultant role; others send staff for training. 'When is a library more than a library?' remains a common NLB refrain. NLB is now partnering with Starbucks and Singtel to pass along used library books—and has begun its next blueprint. Declares Ngian, 'There is so much excitement in breaking new ground.'

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Norman Oder is Senior News Editor, LJ