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Ministry of Digital Development and Information
Parliament

MDDI's Response to PQ on Borrowing Patterns of NLB Physical and E-Books by Language and Age Categories in Past 10 Years

5 March 2026

Parliament Sitting on 5 March 2026
Question for Written Reply

8 Mr Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik asked the Minister for Digital Development and Information for NLB library users in the past 10 years and for both physical and e-books, what is the percentage of (i) English-language books borrowed compared to Chinese, Malay, and Tamil-language books and (ii) adult books borrowed compared to teenage and children books. 8

Answer:

Over the ten-year period from January 2016 to December 2025, there were a total of about 330 million physical and e-books borrowed including renewals.

Breakdown of loans by language: (a) 76% of total loans were for English language books; (b) 21% of total loans were for Chinese-language books; (c) 2% of total loans were for Malay-language books; and (d) 1% of total loans were for Tamil language books.

Breakdown of loans by age group: (a) 60% of total loans were for adult books; (b) 4% of total loans were for teenage books; and (c) 36% of total loans were for children’s books.

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