Speech by Minister Josephine Teo at the reopening of the Bukit Batok Library

My parliamentary colleague, Minister of State Rahayu Mahzam

Mr Lee Seow Hiang and Ms Melissa Tam, Chairman & CEO of NLB

Mr Jonathan Eu, CEO of Singapore Land Group

Colleagues & Friends

Partners & Volunteers

Introduction

1. Some of you know that my first “job” from all the way back in primary school was being a librarian. Imagine my delight at that time when PM said: “Go to MCI”, MDDI now. Because this is the Ministry that oversees NLB.

   1. Partly because of that, it has become a bit of an occupational hazard for me. Whenever I travel, I would look out for libraries, and I want to know what happened to the library of a city, or of a particular place I am visiting.

   2. Some libraries are still thriving. One in particular certainly left such a strong impression on me. This turned out to be an outdoor pop-up library. This was in the city of Karuizawa, which is, I think maybe an hour by Shinkansen from Tokyo. This pop-up library was taking full advantage of the season, and there was a stunning backdrop of fall foliage. Can you imagine the burst of red, orange and yellow?

   3. It had provided the librarians with an opportunity to help just the visitors reconnect with books and rediscover the joy of reading. It was certainly a space that the parents were glad that they could leave their children in.  It was very thoughtfully designed on how they sought to keep it more or less weatherproof and created an environment of comfort.

   4. However, this is not always the case. On some occasions, it is very clear that the library has seen better days.

   5. In one European city, the architecture is still a marvel, you would want to take photographs there. But the shelves have been emptied out, and it was so difficult to even find the right time slot to go visit. The opening hours have been cut because of budgetary constraints, and also because the tourists were not particularly interested in this place too.

   6. So we see a while range of scenarios that libraries now operate in.

2. As recently as 2024, almost 8 in 10 adult Singaporeans said they visit a library. Some visit on a very regular basis, some maybe not so often. But when you think about that whole year, almost 8 in 10 said that they had at least an interaction with our library. I think because of that, that the grassroots advisers continue to “lobby” us, and say: “Can you please expand the library in my area or build a new one?”

3. However, more than simply adding to the collection of 28 libraries island-wide, what’s more important is how we keep them thriving and relevant. 

   1. Because a library is less like brick and mortar, and more like many living things – it doesn’t thrive on its own, but only when it is plugged into a wider ecosystem, drawing resources and strength from other components, as well as contributing something back. 

   2. This is why in Singapore, some libraries like Bukit Batok Library are embedded within a mall, where many residents come to shop, dine, or simply browse, and many children visit.

4. That alone is not enough. The library must itself be attractive, one of the reasons, one of the magnets, why people are drawn to come and be part of a vibrant community.

5. This is precisely what colleagues in the NLB have been working hard to achieve, a library that’s not just double in size, but triple in creativity and quadruple in innovation.

   1. Why do I already know that this is happening? Take for example the SingLand Soundscape. Using curated sounds and visuals, it is an immersive and calming sanctuary that re-creates Bukit Batok's peaceful neighbourhood and natural tranquillity. Even in this little display, we learn something new. We learn this concept of ambisonic field recordings. I think it means to record sounds in the background, ambient sounds. Not just any sounds, curated and then put them together.

   2. What I also learnt is that it’s a triptych. One sound on the way up from the level we were at, and two other soundscapes that we will experience later on, and the three work together. Isn’t that fascinating? And a joy to be part of?

   3. The Sound Cave and Sound Pavilion, I guess that is where the other two of the triptych will be. They were inspired by the serenity of the iconic Little Guilin, and are great places to unwind and decompress.

   4. When I was looking at the teachers chaperoning the children, I said, “I think they need the soundscape, they need the sound cave, and they need the sound to do it right”.

6. Bukit Batok library is also a demonstration that the thoughtful use of technology can also make reading more exciting.

   1. You will find here an Infinite Shelf, that can “digitally expand” the collection of materials beyond what is physical to a patron, when they physically look at the bookshelves, and it gives them a wider access to the selection of eBooks. So it is an Infinite Shelf, where you are not confined by what you see physically.

   2. A Scan-n-Discover display will show more recommended reads for every book you scan.  Even in the way they recommend, there is a thoughtfulness to it. Broaden your reading diet, enable you to understand more things about life, and not to confine yourself to narrow interests, to echo chambers, as it were. Again, a very thoughtful way of engaging with our patrons and also curating for them, experiences that are meaningful.

7. Bringing innovations to Singaporeans isn’t new to Bukit Batok Library. In fact, when it first opened in 1998, it was the world’s first library to implement RFID - Radio Frequency Identification Technology. It became cheap enough to embed a little tag and put it into every book.

   1. With RFID technology, borrowing queues disappeared overnight.

   2. It was also a novelty then that books could be scanned automatically and returned via the book-drop.

   3. When RFID came to Bedok Library, which was nearer to our home, my kids kept asking to borrow more books just so they could bring them back to the book drop! They were dazzled by just the possibility of doing their citizen duty to return the book that they borrowed.

8. This is perhaps one of the best reminders of how our libraries have become, and continued to remain a part of Singaporeans’ lives - our memories as well as our futures.  

Acknowledgments and Conclusion

9. I have no doubt that Bukit Batok Library, like other libraries in Singapore, will continue to be a steadfast anchor for the community, where Singaporeans can forge close connections with family, friends, and fellow patrons.

10. I know for example, that the grassroots advisers already have plans to work with the library, to reach out to more young parents to help their children cultivate screen-less (not screen-free) childhoods.

11. I would like to take this opportunity to thank some of our partners:

    1. SingLand Group, for their generous donation;

    2. The Bukit Batok Community, for contributing your stories and memories that are now part of the Time Caverns; and

    3. A really important group for NLB, our NLB’s volunteers, who have committed their time and energy to making libraries safe and friendly for all.

12. It seems hard to imagine, when we look around at this space, for nearly three decades, Bukit Batok Library has been a key community hub at the forefront of creativity and innovation.

13. I hope that this refreshed library will be a welcoming, home away from home – where we can immerse ourselves in good books, and where our children cultivate a lifelong love of reading.

14. I wish you all a pleasant day ahead. Thank you.