Most, if not all, library books here found in good condition
By
Yen Feng
BOOKS are often judged, fairly or not, by their covers. Last week, the people who borrow them came under scrutiny as well.
A Straits Times reader, Mr Lin Qen Wen, blamed vandals and reckless borrowers for the 'countless tattered books in our libraries'.
'To me, this anti-social behaviour is more shocking than the tattered books,' he wrote in a Forum letter published last Monday.
But a Straits Times check in 10 of Singapore's 23 libraries painted a different picture.
Most, if not all, of the books were in good condition.
Some were worn, but did not appear 'tattered', though one paperback novel from the Cheng San Community Library at Hougang Mall had almost lost its cover. A handful of other books were held together with tape.
Read the full story in Monday's edition of The Straits Times.
