SINGAPORE - The National Library Board (NLB) will resume regular opening hours of its libraries and archives from next Tuesday (Sept 1), though capacity controls remain in place.

The National Library Building, National Archives of Singapore Building and all public libraries will open from 10am to 9pm daily, except on public holidays, while libraries located in shopping malls will open from 11am to 9pm.

The Former Ford Factory museum in Upper Bukit Timah Road, which is also run by NLB, will open from 9am to 5.30pm.

Libraries had previously reopened on July 1 with shorter hours than usual, with all 25 public libraries and the National Library Building opening from 11am to 7pm daily.

Safe distancing measures and capacity controls such as the online booking system, the "borrow and go" model and capacity limits will remain in place.

Visits will continue to be limited to 30 minutes and two hours for public libraries and the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library respectively.

Capacity remains limited to 50 people per floor and patrons can only borrow and return materials.

Seating and study areas in library premises, including newspaper and multimedia stations, will not be available. All physical programmes, guided tours and events remain suspended.

The NLB encouraged patrons to book their preferred visiting time slots through the online system at go.gov.sg/library-visit-booking, with the last time slot being from 8.30 to 9pm.

"We hope this will bring greater convenience to our patrons, allowing them to once again benefit from our services earlier in the mornings and after work in the evenings," it said in a statement.