Library book borrowing returning to pre-pandemic levels: NLB

SINGAPORE - Book borrowing is returning to pre-pandemic levels, with library patrons checking out 37.9 million physical and digital items in 2021 - just below 2019's figure of 40.5 million.

This marks an increase of 30 per cent from 2020, the National Library Board (NLB) noted in its year-in-review report on March 29.

Visitor numbers were also up by 26 per cent from 2020, with a total visitorship of 11.5 million to NLB's network of 27 libraries as well as the National Archives of Singapore and the Former Ford Factory, which NLB manages.

One in two Singaporeans used NLB's digital resources in 2021, and more than 75 per cent of them chose a "hybrid approach" - for instance, reading physical books as well as e-books, e-magazines or e-newspapers.

Digital use - the number of page views of NLB's websites and the use of subscribed electronic books and databases - was 80.6 million, slightly lower than 81.6 million in 2020.

British author J.K. Rowling continued to top the physical books category, with Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets and Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban taking first and second place.

Coming in third was Russell Lee's The Almost Complete Collection Of True Singapore Ghost Stories: Book 26, the only home-grown title to make it to the top five.

In the e-books arena, children's titles Grime And Punishment and Fetch-22 from American cartoonist Dav Pilkey's Dog Man series bagged the top spots, followed by Singaporean Teo You Yenn's 2018 essay collection This Is What Inequality Looks Like - which climbed from fifth to third place.

NLB's report added that in 2021, its app clocked a monthly average of 1.75 million sessions. The library's 15,000 programmes and 15 exhibitions also drew 1.42 million participants - more than twice that in 2020.

Chief executive Ng Cher Pong said in a statement: "We are encouraged by the positive responses to NLB's hybrid approach to providing reading and learning experiences for all.

"Our patrons' reading and learning patterns are evolving, and we will continue to experiment with new ways to meet their needs, including enhancing our omni-channel approach that will enable them to do so anywhere and any time.

He added that this was part of the Libraries and Archives Blueprint 2025 (LAB25).

This is a five-year road map that includes various efforts to reach out to people beyond physical libraries, such as by having QR codes in public spaces which they can scan to read digital magazines, e-books or other resources.

Some of these "nodes" have already sprung up in malls around Singapore, and will also appear in offices, parks and food and beverage outlets.