SINGAPORE: The National Library Board (NLB) is offering some 400,000 used books and magazines for sale, the largest number ever.

The Library Book Sale, in its ninth year, is on until Sunday at the Singapore Expo Hall.

Before the public sale, the NLB donated 60,000 books to over 80 voluntary welfare organisations.

Zunaidah Shahul Hamid, principal of Spastic Children's Association, said: "Especially for non-verbal kids that we have, these books are a form of adventure for them......because they are non-verbal, so the pictures will say a thousand words."

Julia Lam, director of TOUCH Community Services, said: "To encourage them (children) to read independently, my teachers will actually pick out books that have to do with everyday life, talking about colours, shapes and sizes, so that they (the individuals) will be more aware of the surroundings and will learn new words and vocabulary."

Books donated included English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil fiction and non-fiction titles.

For the visually-impaired, there were audio CD books published by the National Library Board.

N Varaprasad, NLB's chief executive, said: "These audio books are basically CDs with short stories on them, and these are published by NLB. The stories are read by celebrities and well-known people and it is a good way for them to plug in and listen to stimulate imagination and creativity, even though you may not be able to physically read and browse a book."

Prices for books and magazines on sale to the public range from S$1 to S$5.

Proceeds will be used to buy more books for National Library branches. To avoid a mad grab, each customer will only be allowed up to 50 items.

- CNA/ir