Date: June 21 - 17 August 2025

Note: The Book Bugs activities have ended. Do join us for other NLB30 activities! Read more about Book Bugs here.

Join us as we celebrate NLB30 with Book Bugs! Children and families can look forward to special NLB30 activities which will kick off at Bugcadia's Annual National Tournament (A.N.T.).

Discover Book Bugs through the years with our special showcase where we bring together all 425 cards from five editions of Book Bugs on display for the first time. As a treat for Book Bugs fans, two commemorative cards will also be unveiled and first available to redeem at the tournament to mark NLB's 30th anniversary.

More details here: go.gov.sg/nlb30bb

The Jul-Sep 2025 BiblioAsia is a special issue to commemorate NLB30. Take a walk down memory lane (and Stamford Road) as we revisit the first mobile libraries, the history of legal deposit in Singapore, the former National Library building and more. Join us as we celebrate all things libraries and archives. It will have more pages, more stories and more great photos than usual! Check out the issue here!

 

This year’s Read! Fest returns with READ30, a special edition of the biennial festival celebrating the joy of reading.

Immerse yourself in a marquee experience where books come to life through your five senses. Discover the Presidential Pop-up Library, featuring books recommended by Singapore’s Presidents, alongside books about Presidents of Singapore. Explore curated book recommendations from 30 Singaporean personalities at pop-up Nodes stretching from Orchard Road to the National Library Building.

Join us for an unforgettable literary journey!

Marquee Experience: 5 - 27 July 2025, 10am – 9pm, National Library Building Plaza

READ30 Nodes: 5 – 20 July 2025, along various locations along Orchard Road

The Presidential Pop-up Library Returns!

Location: Dhoby Ghaut (Plaza Singapura, #03-85)

Step inside to discover the books that have inspired our nation's leaders, from personal recommendations to their biographies and self-published works. Beyond our Presidential collection, we are also bringing together book recommendations from 30 iconic Singaporean personalities previously featured at our READ30 pop-ups across the city ranging from well-loved classics to thought-provoking biographies.

Group guided tours are available for schools and community groups. Click here to find out more!

First Run: 12 July – 2 September 2025

Current Run: 8 November 2025 to 22 March 2026

Open daily from 10 am to 10 pm

Admission is free

Date: July - October 2025

Open Book: The NLB30 Keynotes series has concluded. Thank you to all our participants for joining us on this exploration of the future of reading, learning and discovery!

Missed the sessions? Stay tuned to our social media pages for more details on when the sessions’ recordings will be made available for viewing!

Date: 2 August 2025

The Encyclopedia of Singapore Tamils (EST) is a pioneering online resource that documents key aspects of the life and times of the Tamil community in Singapore, across a range of topics like society, arts, culture and education. It is a joint initiative by the Centre for Singapore Tamil Culture (CSTC) and NLB. Discover the EST here. Read more about the launch here.

Inspired by the legendary Jedi Archives, Singapore’s first-ever Star Wars Pop-Up Library houses a collection of Star Wars physical and digital books, catering to readers of all ages, from young Padawans to Jedi Masters. Check out the list of eReads here.

Experience the newly piloted automated book retrieval and return system, featuring a robotic arm that retrieves and returns books through a touch-screen kiosk.

Engage with Star Wars-themed interactive activities including a personality quiz to discover which Jedi you are most like, and a trivia challenge that puts your Star Wars knowledge to the test.

Don't miss out on Star Wars-related activities at the pop-up library. More details available soon.

Dates Running: 6 August 2025 – 24 January 2026
Operating hours: 10 am to 10 pm daily (including public holidays)
Location: Changi Airport Terminal 3, Level 2 (Beside North Skytrain and Linkbridge to Jewel), 65 Airport Boulevard Singapore 819633
How to get there:
Nearest MRT: Changi Airport Station
Buses: 24, 27, 34, 36, 53, 110, 858

Held at Orchard Library, the SG60 Heart&Soul Experience brings to life Singapore’s vision for tomorrow through an immersive, multi-sensory journey across our past, present and future. Held in celebration of SG60, the showcase invites you to reflect on Singapore’s journey, your place in it, and what lies ahead.

What makes this showcase unique is its use of generative AI to assist in tailoring each visit — turning every experience into a personalised adventure. You can expect interactive moments and unexpected surprises that spark imagination and emotion.

Heart&Soul is more than a showcase — it is an experience that delights, inspires and entertains, one that not only captivates your mind, but also touches hearts and souls.

SG60 Heart&Soul Experience is jointly organised by the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) and the National Library Board (NLB).  More details here.

Date: 26 August 2025 - 31 December 2025

Date: September 2025

A huge thank you to everyone who joined in on our big 30^th birthday bash!

We celebrated our 30^th anniversary milestone on 6 September 2025 across 25 locations island-wide, bringing together close to 1,400 patrons, staff, alumni and volunteers at our libraries and archives.

To celebrate 30 years of stories, we have prepared a collection of 30 heartfelt love letters expressing appreciation from NLB’s staff, patrons, and volunteers, prefaced by a special letter from the Minister for Digital Development and Information, Mrs Josephine Teo. Read more about the event here.

Accompanied by archival photos that span the rich history of Singapore’s libraries and archives, we invite everyone to take a trip down memory lane with us as we reminisce the bonds that unite us all as one NLB community, reading, learning and discovering together.

Read all the letters here.

In celebration of NLB30, NLB welcomes back our patrons to the libraries to rediscover and reconnect with our rich and diverse collections, resources, and services.

Between 6 September 2025 and 31 December 2025, NLB is offering a one-time waiver of outstanding fines and one complimentary order of Borrow-n-Deliver service (worth S$8.72, inclusive of GST) for eligible patrons.

Click here for more information on the NLB30 One-Time Fines Waiver exercise and Complimentary Borrow-n-Deliver.

Come discover our range of commemorative items specially created for NLB’s 30^th anniversary! We celebrate significant milestones in NLB's development through two special collections:

1. An NLB30 x Triologie collection featuring three artistic prints marking NLB's journey across the years. This is a collaboration with homegrown Singaporean brand, Triologie, known for their meaningful storytelling of local culture through design.
2. A Book Bugs collection featuring favourite characters from seasons 1 to 5, including NLB30 commemorative Book Bugs, Pagie and Empress.

Purchase can be made via our newly-launched online store hosted on Shopee.

You can also head down to our merchandise pop-ups which will be roving to various locations at our libraries and events from this month onwards. There will be vending machines too for purchase of merchandise at selected locations. The roving schedule is as follows:

Date: 1 October 2025 - 31 October 2025

The Time of Your Life Celebration 2025 has concluded. Thank you for your participation and support!

To browse and register for other programmes for seniors, head to go.gov.sg/toyl.

Date: 11 October 2025

Discover the inspiring stories of Singapore's Malay community leaders and changemakers through the Prominent Malays of Singapore online portal, jointly developed by NLB and the NUS Department of Malay Studies. The bilingual portal features prominent Malays who have shaped Singapore across six decades, organised across ten categories including arts, community, education, politics, religion, sports, legal, healthcare, government, and business. Read more about the launch event here.

A roving exhibition featuring highlights of the portal will travel to these libraries over the next 18 months, from mid-October 2025 to March 2027:

• Bedok Library (October 2025-January 2026)
• Woodlands Library (January-March 2026)
• Tampines Library (April-May 2026)
• Jurong Library (June-August 2026)
• National Library, Level 9 Promenade (September-October 2026)
• Central Library (November 2026)
• Punggol Library (December 2026-March 2027)

Discover the lives and legacies of Singapore's most influential Malay figures at: https://go.gov.sg/nlb-pmos

Date: 24 October 2025

Donors' Appreciation Night is an annual event that appreciates the important role donors play in helping to preserve and promote Singapore's documentary heritage. In the past year, close to 100 donors contributed over 3,300 materials to the National Library and National Archives of Singapore’s collections. To commemorate this milestone year, donors from the past 30 years also joined us in the celebration.

Read more about the event here.

Date: 1 November 2025

The Volunteers' Appreciation Event celebrates NLB's volunteers, who have dedicated their time and effort in making the experience of learning and discovery at our libraries and archives enriching for all our patrons.

This year, NLB celebrated an important milestone of reaching our goal of over 6,500 volunteers by 2026, ahead of time! To show our appreciation, we have introduced exciting new initiatives including an online Onboarding Handbook and our new digital Rewards Card, empowering volunteers to contribute even more effectively to our learning community.

As our libraries and archives continue to be key touchpoints in Singaporeans' reading and learning journeys, our volunteers' contributions have never been more vital. We look forward to welcoming more volunteers and growing NLB’s volunteering community.