Sometimes a library does spell boredom. But what about one with a view of a huge football stadium, cooking classes, a maker space, automatic lockers for retrieving books at your convenience and an online e-book catalogue? Sound like fun?
Such a reading space actually exists in Singapore, as part of the country's efforts to encourage learning and promote digital technology.
"Singapore aims to encourage citizens of every age to cope with digital technology, from kids to senior people. We inspire our people to keep reading and learning," said Adrian Lim, director for digital literacy at Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).
Singapore has allocated more of its budget to education than to any department besides defence.
"We give priority to human development, which is key to the country's success in innovation," said Lim, also a former school principal. "Our library is designed to inspire people to keep learning. It's not just a reading place but a place where family can spend time together on a variety of activities for different generations."
Tampines Regional Library is one of 26 public libraries in Singapore that reflect the future of the library, blending a classic feeling of reading books with modern digital activities.
Lynn Koh, senior manager of Tampines Regional Library, said the public library is located in a commercial space of 10,900m². The five-storey building houses a collection of 400,000 books, 347 magazine titles and 16,800 audio-video items.
Beyond its function as a library, there is an integrated space featuring a tech lab, culinary studio and exhibit gallery. Nearby is also a football stadium. This encourages not only learning but innovative thinking and experimentation.
Each floor has customised reading areas for different groups of users. The second floor, Tampines Gallery by the National Heritage Board, shows an evolution of Tampines from rural beginnings to a town. It also has the Culinary Studio by the People's Association and Cookery Collection, for cooking classes.
The third floor is designed for early literacy, ideal for parents and children, with reading areas for small ones aged below three, and another one for children aged four to six. It also features a Tumblebook station, where kids can access e-books and animated illustrations.
On the fourth floor of the library is a platform where children and teens can interact with displays. There is also Pixel Lab by IMDA and the National Library Board (NLB). It is a maker space with tools and equipment, such as hardware kits like micro-controllers, with which they can make musical greeting cards, or remote-control a lamp using a sensor. The lab also has 3D printers, sawing machines and a photo studio.
The fifth floor is where senior visitors can indulge themselves in design, like a lounge with comfort and quiet, and special books with large fonts.
Siow Shong Seng, chief information officer of the NLB, said it has developed an NLB mobile application that allows users to search and browse book titles, reserve books and browse the e-bookshelf in the app, including free online magazines and newspapers.
"We realise the shift of readers in the digital age. The e-book borrowing service and mobile app helps attract users aged 25-49 by 81% year on year, with a 191% increase of e-book users," said Siow.
The library also developed self-service and automation to make the facility more convenient for users and reduce repetitive tasks for its staff, moving them to more value-added jobs.
At the book-borrowing station, users can scan a bar code attached to the book with radio-frequency identification (RFID) and payment of any fees can be completed at the station. If users do not scan the bar code and take the book out of the library, it will send an alarm when passing through the door.
The library also provides reservation lockers. When visitors reserve materials, they will be placed in lockers of their choice. As the lockers are accessible even when the library is closed, they can self-collect the reserved items at their convenience with the payment function handling the fee.
The library is also the first to use a robot as mobile bookdrop, enabling visitors to conveniently return their books at one of the library's entrances. Books are automatically and simultaneously returned when dropped into the robot. When it's full, the robot will automatically follow a magnetic strip on the floor and travel to the sorting area. When it arrives at the sorting spot, the robot will send a signal to alert staff to pick up books and place them back on the shelves.
In the library, there is AutoSorter, a computerised system to mechanically sort returned items into categories for easy shelving by staff. The machine uses data analytics to identify popular titles for staff to place at the return shelves.
The NLB app also now supports artificial intelligence, having added Google Assistant for voice-activated interactions and access of services in the app. Voice commands for book searches and book-review reading are also available.
Pixel lab.
Mobile bookdrop robot.