National Library Board

The National Library Board (Abbreviation: NLB; ; Malay: Lembaga Perpustakaan Negara; தேசிய நூலக வாரியம்) is a statutory board of the Ministry of Communications and Information, Singapore. Tasked to manage the public libraries and to lead them into the Information Age where non-print resources are making their mark, the NLB is aimed towards the creation of "borderless libraries," an initiative aimed at bringing the libraries closer to Singaporeans, and to connect Singaporeans with the outside world.

The National libraries of Singapore house books in all four official languages of Singapore: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. Other than paper books, the libraries also loans CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, VCDs, video cassettes, audiobooks on CDs, magazines and periodicals, DVD-videos and music CDs (the last at the Esplanade outlet). Its flagship institution, the National Library, Singapore, has moved to its new premises at Victoria Street since 22 July 2005.

History
Although the NLB was formed on 1 September 1995 only, its history began way back in the 1820s when Sir Stamford Raffles, founder of modern Singapore, first proposed the idea of establishing a public library in the thriving colony. This library was to evolve into the National Library of Singapore in 1960, before expanding into the suburbs with the setting up of branch libraries in the various new towns.

Library 2000
In 1995, when the NLB took over the duties of the National Library of Singapore, it was also entrusted with bringing to reality the findings of the Library 2000 Review Committee, set up in June 1992 to review the public library system. This committee, headed by Dr Tan Chin Nam, considered the role of information technology in contemporary library services for the next decade, with the aims of


 * 1) Establishing Singapore as an international information hub;
 * 2) Preserving and promoting Singapore's literary heritage;
 * 3) Providing for education, knowledge and research;
 * 4) And promoting a well-read and well-informed society.

The committee also took into consideration the library needs of public library users in general, the linguistic needs of an increasingly bilingual populance, the catering to the needs of professions who require extensive information databases, and the establishment of the library as a nucleus of national culture and heritage. After a year-long review, the Committee published their findings on 5 March 1994, which calls for six "strategic thrusts", which are


 * 1) An Adaptive Public Library System
 * 2) A Network of Borderless Libraries
 * 3) A Coordinated National Collection Strategy
 * 4) Quality Service Through Market Orientation
 * 5) Symbiotic Linkages With Business And Community
 * 6) A Global Knowledge Arbitrage

In addition, the report also speaks of three "key enablers" to bring about these changes, which are


 * 1) the setting up of a new statutory board
 * 2) staff development, and the
 * 3) exploiting of new technology.

The NLB was thus formed as a result of this Report. The NLB implements initiatives arising from the Report's recommendations, to help Singapore stay competitive in the global knowledge economy and become "a more gracious society".

Basic membership
The NLB serves Singapore citizens, Permanent residents and foreigners. Annual basic membership, which is free for Singapore citizens and Permanent Residents, allows borrowers to loan up to eight items at any one time, which includes a maximum of 3 AV (Audiovisual) items. A one-time non-refundable registration fee of $10.50 is charged during registration. 21 days is the loan period given for books, and 14 days for magazines. If the borrower returns the book/magazine after the loan period, he or she will need to pay a fine of S$0.15 per day for books, and S$0.50 for magazines. The book/magazine may be renewed for free from 1 April 2009 onwards, subject to the fact that the book/magazine is not reserved by someone else beforehand. All books/magazines can only be renewed once only.

Premium membership
For members on premium membership, they will be able to borrow up to 4 additional books/magazines/audio-visual materials/music scores. The annual non-refundable membership fee for the Premium Membership is S$21.00. The loan period for music scores is 21 days and for AV materials, 14 days.

Foreigners membership
For foreigners who are interested in borrowing library materials, a non-refundable registration fee of S$10.50 as well as an annual foreign membership fee of S$42.80 will be charged. This entitles them to borrow up to 4 books/magazines, and 4 additional AV items/music scores/books/magazines. The loan period is the same as for citizens and Permanent residents.