Self-service pop-up library will feature more than 7,000 books from comic classics to superhero stories and dedicated spaces for board games with a local twist
Singapore, 30 April 2025 –NLB, in partnership with JTC and local board games company Origame, has opened a new pop-up Comics and Games Library today at Punggol Coast Mall. The pop-up library is a fully self-service library that will feature an extensive collection of more than 7,000 comics, game-themed reads, graphic novels and board games.
Conveniently located in the atrium of Punggol Coast Mall in Punggol Digital District, the library features bright, vibrant designs reflecting the fun, adventurous spirit of comics and gameplay. There are dedicated sections for adults and children, an eReads area and a space for board games. Comfortable seating areas are available for patrons to read and enjoy their selections. Patrons can also take the time to browse a list of eReads, including ones in Mother Tongue languages, from an interactive touchscreen embedded into a bookshelf. To borrow an eBook, patrons can simply tap on the screen to reveal a QR code and scan it with their NLB Mobile app.
To enter the library, visitors can simply scan their ID or request a QR code day pass. Patrons can then browse and borrow books using the NLB Mobile app. The collection includes the following:
In addition to books, patrons can play and enjoy board games with friends and family at dedicated gaming spaces within the pop-up space. Set up in partnership with local board games company Origame Studios Pte Ltd to showcase local and regional board games, patrons can try out a range of games including the family-friendly Kopi King, about well-loved drinks in Singapore, and Durian Dash, in which players will need to visit different plantations to collect their favourite durians to win (refer to Annex C for examples).
NLB’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Ng Cher Pong, said: “We have been encouraged by the responses to our pop-up libraries, which have appeared in malls, community clubs, and other spaces near where patrons are. With each new pop-up library, we take the opportunity to work with different partners, to bring reading and learning to our patrons in new and engaging ways. For the Comics and Games Library, we explored creating a board game space with homegrown game designers, for patrons to learn about Singapore culture through play, and also discover local talents in gaming. This reflects our spirit of experimentation as part of the LAB25 (Libraries and Archives Blueprint 2025) journey, to build a vibrant Learning Marketplace for everyone.”
At the Comics and Games pop-up library, patrons can also look forward to a showcase wall featuring local comics donated by local comic collectors from their personal collection. The collection includes Captain V, Singapore’s first full-colour comic, as well as Medium Rare, Singapore’s first comic adaptation of a film. The items in the special showcase collection will not be for loan. A similar showcase of such titles was set up at the pop-up Manga Library in City Square Mall in 2023.
The pop-up library will feature StoryGen, an interactive service produced by NLB and Amazon Web Services that helps users discover great stories and writers by experiencing them in new ways using Generative AI. Visitors can put their own spin to classic stories like Wizard of Oz and Sang Nila Utama in a captivating Manga art style. As part of discovering more content and authors with Gen AI, NLB will also offer the opportunity for patrons to learn about the benefits and challenges this emerging technology brings. At this pop-up library, patrons can look up NLB resources such as Read to be S.U.R.E. (Source, Understand, Research, Evaluate), which help patrons understand both the benefits and challenges of AI. Display panels will explain how Generative AI works and how to differentiate real information from fake, so that patrons may learn the importance of digital literacy.
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About National Library Board
The National Library Board (NLB) nurtures Readers for Life, Learning Communities and a Knowledgeable Nation by promoting reading, learning and history through its network of 28 libraries, the National Library and the National Archives of Singapore. NLB also forges strategic partnerships that encourage awareness, appreciation and greater discovery of Singapore's history through its rich collections in Singapore and the region.
NLB achieves excellence through innovation, focusing on citizen engagement and co-creation, resource and digital innovation. This creates learning opportunities, greater access to library resources, services, and archival collections, as well as a continual development of innovative library spaces. Established on 1 September 1995 as a statutory board, NLB is under the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI).
For more information, please visit the NLB website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube channels.
For media queries, please contact:
Hoe I Yune
Weber Shandwick, Singapore
+65 9324 2061
IHoe@webershandwick.com
Zoey Tan
Weber Shandwick, Singapore
+65 9699 0830
ZTan@webershandwick.com
Annex