Pop-up comics library opens in Anchorpoint with 7,500 books
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The pop-up library in Anchorpoint mall will be open to the public for a year.
PHOTO: NATIONAL LIBRARY BOARD
Follow topic:
SINGAPORE – A new pop-up library boasting 7,500 comics and graphic novels opened to the public on Friday at the Anchorpoint mall in Queenstown, where it will serve borrowers for a year.
Called the Comics Library, the new pop-up is a full self-service library jointly launched by the National Library Board (NLB) and Anchorpoint, said the NLB in a statement on Friday.
Located on the first floor of the mall, the library is decorated with designs of vintage comics inspired by the pop art movement of the 1950s and 1960s, said the statement.
It added that the library will also have the full collection of titles that was in a previous pop-up library called the Manga Library, which was located at City Square Mall and ran from February to August.
The Manga Library featured more than 5,000 titles, including Spy X Family, Dragon Ball Z and Pokemon Adventures (Red, Green and Blue), during its six-month stint.
The statement about the Comics Library added that “the library will carry 7,500 books for a start, and the collection will gradually grow to more than 11,000 titles by early 2024, with 9,500 titles in English, 800 in Chinese, 400 in Malay, and 400 in Tamil, for adults and children to enjoy”.
The library features a dedicated collection of comics and graphic novels in English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil, and a separate collection for children with comics and novels in the four languages as well.
The Comics Library features two eReads screens for patrons to browse popular manga and comics e-titles.
PHOTO: NATIONAL LIBRARY BOARD
The English-language collection will include popular titles such as Superman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Marvel series Guardians Of The Galaxy.
NLB’s chief executive Ng Cher Pong said the “very positive reception” to the pop-up Manga Library drove the NLB to work on the Comics Library project with Anchorpoint.
Located on the first floor of Anchorpoint mall, the library is decorated with designs of vintage comics inspired by the pop art movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
PHOTO: NATIONAL LIBRARY BOARD
“The new Comics Library will give our patrons a diverse selection of comics that will make reading fun and accessible for all,” he said.
Mr Ng said the pop-up was part of NLB’s efforts to innovate and experiment, and also part of its LAB25 (Libraries and Archives Blueprint 2025) plan – a five-year road map launched in 2021 that, among other things, aims to encourage Singaporeans to read and become more information-literate.
