The current building, a 16-storey, two-block development situated in the city's Civic District, replaces the old National Library at Stamford Road, which closed on 31 March 2004. The library moved to its new home on 22 July 2005, and was officially opened on 12 November that year by the then President S. R. Nathan. It is the flagship building of the National Library Board, bringing together the core functions of the old library by incorporating a reference library, known as the Lee Kong ChianReference Library, as well as a public library, the Central Public Library, under one roof. The building designed by T.R. Hamzah & Ken Yeang consists of two 16-storey blocks, with three basements. The blocks are linked by skybridges on every floor. It houses two libraries, the Central Public Library in Basement 1 and the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library from Levels 7 to 13. It also houses the Drama Centre from Levels 3 to 5, which is managed by the National Arts Council. The National Library Board headquarters is located on the 14th floor. On the highest 16th level rooftop, there is a large closed area designed like a bubble called The Pod, used for functions and events. Although not a public viewing gallery, it has a panoramic 360-degree view of the city core and Marina bay area. The plaza on the ground floor has a cafe and is often used as an exhibition space. There are many gardens in the building but only two are opened to the public - the Courtyard on Level 5 and the Retreat on Level 10. There are three glass elevators for public use. There are escalators on every floor, from Basement 3 to level 14th. The basement carpark has 246 lots. A number of old bricks from the old National Library building has been incorporated into the present building.
History
The National Library traces its history back to the establishment of the first public library suggested by Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of modern Singapore. It was renamed the Hullett Memorial Library in 1923, co-located with Singapore's first school, Raffles Institution, at a site now occupied by the Raffles City complex. It moved to a separate Library and Museum Building in 1887 under the name of Raffles Library as part of the Raffles Museum, before moving to the Stamford Road premises in 1960 under the name of the National Library of Singapore opened by Yang di-Pertuan Negara of Singapore Inche Yusof Ishak.
Sections
The main collections found at each level of the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library includes:
