A library to hang out
By Nazry Bahrawi, TODAY | Posted: 07 May 2007 1107 hrs

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Shopping haven Orchard Road will be bagging its second library — and it will be Singapore's first-ever youth-centric public library.

The new 1,000-sq-m site — a-third smaller than the library@orchard at Ngee Ann City — will be housed within the upcoming four-storey *scape building on Grange Road next to Orchard Cineleisure, and which is slated to open some time in 2009.

This new library aims to attract primarily locals aged between 13 and 19 years, and also expatriate youths who frequent Orchard Road venues such as Youth Park and shopping centres like Plaza Singapura, The Heeren Shops and Far East Plaza.

The National Library Board (NLB) also wants it to attract youths who visit the Central Lending Library at Bugis, those who are not library users and other emerging markets.

This is according to details spelt out in a public tender document released by the NLB last Friday. The NLB invited market research companies to conduct a comprehensive survey with respondents who fit the profile described above to better understand their needs and preferences.

It hopes the survey can shed some light on issues such as youth usage of libraries now, motivations and barriers for doing so, and the role that libraries can play for this group.

The 2-ha $25-million *scape building is a new jumbo youth haunt that will also feature a studio for jam sessions and a skateboard zone.

Managed by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS), the design for the project is based on ideas submitted by young people over two months late last year.

While one of the winning ideas was for a reading space at the new building, it seems the planners have settled for a full-fledged library.

NLB could not provide more details at press time, but it seems open to experimenting with a formula that is different from what current libraries offer. Among the objectives for the market research, NLB wants to know what "new" learning experiences youths would like to get at the proposed library, and what kind of role the library can play that is "different from the traditional library".

Youths Today spoke to were excited to hear about the project. And one of them knows exactly how it can set itself apart from other libraries in Singapore.

"Abolish the silence is golden rule," said 16-year-old Natasha Jaabar. "And play music — the latest hits — in the library, since youths like to study with their iPods or the radio playing. There can be study rooms where you can opt for silence."

Another youth, Bashirah Akhtar, 16, believes that she would visit the new library if it offers programmes that are youth-centric.

She said: "I would be interested if the new library holds reading groups discussing literary books that I am studying in school because this increases my understanding of the text in an interactive manner.

"Also, a manga club can help to boost interest." - TODAY/sh