The National Library Building, located at 91 Stamford Road, was officially opened on 12 November 1960. Between 1887-1960, the National Library had previously occupied the western wing of the Raffles Museum, what is now the Singapore History Museum, at Stamford Road.
History
The first move to provide for a new National Library building came in 1953 when Lee Kong Chian, rubber tycoon and a prominent figure of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, donated S$375,000 towards a new building. On 16 August 1957, the foundation stone of the new building was laid by Lee Kong Chian and construction was completed in 1959. The land, building expenditure and the furniture and equipment for the new building cost S$2,300,000.
The Stamford Road site to the south of Raffles Museum was chosen as the site of the building. From 1875 to 1940, the St Andrew's Chapel and School buildings occupied the site of the National Library Building at Stamford Road. In particular, the St Andrew's Mission School building, which had been occupied by the St John's Ambulance Headquarters and the British Council Building, would later become the site for the National Library.
Design
The building was designed by the Public Works Department British architect, Lionel Bintley in consultation with the National Library Director, L. M. Harrod (1955-1959). The project architect was Tio Seng Chin. The completed library had a reinforced concrete framed structure with brick walls. The architecture is said to reflect the red-brick epoch of British architecture in the 1950s.
The National Library building however, received negative criticism from various sectors. One of the criticisms was that it did not harmonise with the aesthetically pleasing and dignified National Museum adjacent to it. The building was described as "forbidding", "intimidating" "out of character" and "monumental but clumsy".
Despite these negative criticisms, the library was appreciated for the tremendous increase in space it afforded compared to its old premises. The old library was said to be only one quarter of its new size.
Description
The total floor area of the new building was 101,500 sq ft. The building was made up of a lower ground floor, ground floor, mezzanine floor, first floor and three storeys of book stacks. The ground floor consisted of the exhibition hall, adult lending library, children's library, children's activities room and lecture hall. The mezzanine floor comprised of administrative offices and a stack area. The first floor held the reference library, microfilm reading room and a conference room with a 50 people capacity.
Opening
The library was officially declared open by President Yusof bin Ishak on 12 November 1960. It is reported that "(i)ncessant hordes of people (were) milling about the library grounds on that auspicious day" curious to see the new library. President Yusof Ishak stated that the new library "would serve the needs of nation-building and its departments of knowledge, learning and technology embraced a wide field". The official opening of the National Library heralded a whole week of festivities known as the National Library Week.
Author
Anasuya Balamururgan
References
Seet, K. K. (1983). A Place for the people (pp. 101-137). Singapore: Times Books International.
(Call no.: RSING 027.957 SEE )
Up and on: St. Andrew's School magazine (p. 9). (1862-1962). Singapore: St. Andrew's School.
(Call no.: RCLOS 373.5957 UO)
Anuar, H. (1962). Singapore's National Library. In The Straits Times Annual (pp. 58-59). Singapore: Straits Times.
(Call no.: RCLOS 959.5 STR)
Anuar, H. (1983). The National Library of Singapore 1958-1983. In the Singapore Libraries (pp. 13, 3-11). Singapore: Library Association of Singapore.
(Call no.: RCLOS 020.5 SL)
Cultural awakening at opening of new National Library . (1960, November 13). The Straits Times, p.1.
National Library, our heritage and a treasure . (2000, February 19). The Straits Times.
The information in this article is valid as at 2002 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history on the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.
