Borrowing resumes at community-funded Casual Poet Library after opening hiccup

SINGAPORE – Readers can now borrow books again at Casual Poet Library, Singapore’s first pay-to-rent community library, which opened at Block 123 Bukit Merah Lane 1 on Aug 5.

This comes a week after it suspended lending services on Aug 6 – one day after its opening – as it did not receive approval from the Housing Board (HDB). The library remained open for browsing, with volunteer librarians welcoming visitors and keeping an online diary on its Instagram page.

With approvals from HDB secured, says founder Rebecca Toh, 38, the library’s full services have resumed on Aug 13. She tells The Straits Times what she gleaned from this early hiccup: “I learnt that unexpected obstacles can happen any time, and it’s important to take them in one’s stride.”

Despite a rocky start, she says that Casual Poet Library has continued to receive a constant flow of visitors, ranging from 20 to 30 visitors on quieter days to 50 to 60 visitors on busier ones.

The library has crowdfunded about $18,000 currently, which will go to funding free book clubs, community events and children’s programmes.

The number of library member sign-ups has also increased from about 60 on Aug 6 to 77 on Aug 14.

Library members pay an annual fee of $25 and can borrow up to five books at a time from Casual Poet Library’s catalogue, which currently has more than 2,400 books listed and includes children’s books and titles in multiple languages.

Casual Poet Library is the latest book space concept experimenting with different ways to fight Singapore bookshops’ biggest killer – rental costs.

A total of 180 bookshelf owners have each paid between $43 and $49 a month for a minimum six-month lease of a small shelf in the space.

The model, unlike a traditional bookstore, relieves financial pressure on a single owner.