NLB

The National Library(NLB) is the flagship national library of Singapore run by National Library Board.

I have benefited a lot by reading many books from this library during my years in Singapore.

I completed my entire MCSE certification in Windows 2000 through self-study by borrowing Microsoft Official Curriculum books from the Singapore public libraries in late 2000 and early 2001.

I also proceeded to complete the CCNA certification in the same way by borrowing Cisco official study guides.

Besides borrowing books and movie DVD’s, i also bought a number of used books for my children from their Annual book sale conducted in Singapore Expo, Changi.

I read multiple books from the Investment section of the library including those that influenced my thinking a lot like Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and The Coffeehouse Investor.

When i went to Singapore, the first library i visited was Stamford Road Library i.e the old Main library of NLB. This was closed around 2004 and the new library building was opened around 2005 housing the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library and the Central Public Library.

Since i stayed in the western part of Singpore during initial years, i mostly visited the Jurong Regional library. This library also housed a lot of extra books during the temporary closure of Main library building.

Later when i shifted to Telok Blangah, Bukit Merah Public Library was the nearest, which was usually visited on foot. NLB provided a facility to deliver reserved books at any library of our choice. So this became my choice to collect reserved books and for returning books that i borrowed from Main library, as this too was allowed.

In my intial days, i also used the public kiosk in the libraries to access Internet as i did not have internet access at my residence. The online bibliography service offerred by NLB was of very good quality.

NLB libraries allowed complete access to public without any barriers either based on nationality or membership. As a foreigner i paid a very nominal amount to enjoy the membership benefits including the digital library content.

Despite living few kilometres from Romain Rolland Library, i’m still not able to become a member as i don’t have a valid address proof in Pondicherry, even after 15 years.

References: https://www.nlb.gov.sg ↗