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SINGAPORE: The National Library Board (NLB) has launched a children’s book subscription service that will allow customers to obtain a monthly home delivery of eight selected books.
Subscribers to The Little Book Box will get eight children’s books in English monthly, which will include fiction and non-fiction readings, NLB said in a press release on Thursday (October 1).
“The books cover a wide range of children’s interests and are aimed at two age groups: four to six years old and seven to nine years old,” he said.
The service books are not within the usual credit quota, NLB added. This means that subscribers will still be able to borrow up to 16 books from the library.
The duration of the loan of these books, excluding the delivery period, will be 21 days. Overdue fines will be incurred as usual, NLB said.
The books can be returned to any of Singapore’s 25 public libraries, he added.
READ: All public libraries will resume regular opening hours beginning September 1; COVID-19 steps to stay in place
Before the launch of The Little Book Box, NLB said it conducted a survey earlier this year to determine if there was demand for the service.
“More than 2,000 responses were received and most were receptive to this idea,” said NLB.
The service would make it “more convenient and accessible for parents to obtain a variety of books for their children,” said NLB Executive Director Ng Cher Pong.
He added: “Families have busy lifestyles and parents have to juggle work with childcare. Some may find it difficult to go to libraries with their children regularly.”
“Many may also stay at home more during this period.”
The pilot service, priced at S $ 10.70 per month, will be available for registration starting Friday and is expected to run for nine months, from November to July next year.
There will be a minimum subscription period of three months, and the subscription will automatically renew after that for another three months unless canceled.
NLB said it has also ensured that the subscription service is accessible to children from low-income families by partnering with the Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund to sponsor up to 200 children from those households with a free nine-month book subscription service. .
Based on the response to the pilot service, NLB said it will “consider extending” the service beyond July 2021 and expanding the scale.
Singapore’s public libraries resumed regular opening hours from September 1 and capacity control and safe distancing measures are maintained.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, public libraries were closed as of April 7, which was the start of the country’s “circuit breaker.”
They reopened on July 1 with shorter opening hours, as well as limits on the number of people allowed and the length of visits.
Under the current revised restrictions, libraries are operating on a “borrow and go” basis, meaning that people will be able to borrow and return physical materials, as well as use book delivery and reservation services.
Each person is also limited to a 30-minute and two-hour restriction to public libraries and the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library, respectively.
All seating and study areas, including newspaper and multimedia stations, are not available. All programs, guided tours and events remain suspended.
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