Singapore, Library in a Shopping Mall “Library @ Orchard”

October 12, 2023 665 Views

The Starfield Library, which appeared in Gangnam, Seoul, Coex, garnered significant attention for being an open library in the midst of a shopping mall in the city. Consequently, Coex Starfield is always crowded with foreign tourists taking photos.

The Starfield Library at Coex opened on May 31, 2017. The library drew inspiration from another library located in the shopping malls on Orchard Road in Singapore, known as “Library @ Orchard.”

“Library in a Singapore Orchard Road Shopping Mall”

The library situated in a shopping mall on Orchard Road, Singapore, is named “Library @ Orchard.” As straightforward as it sounds in English, it is indeed a library in Orchard.

The Orchard Library is in a shopping mall called “Orchard Gateway,” one of the large shopping malls along Orchard Road. It is connected inside “Orchard Central,” another shopping mall.

“Close to Somerset Subway Station – Orchard Library”

The Orchard Library is conveniently close to Somerset MRT Station. Positioned on the 3rd and 4th floors of the significant shopping mall “Orchard Gateway,” it allows shoppers to take a break and read a book while exploring the mall.

I did not deliberately seek out Orchard Library during my trip to Singapore. Initially, I had no information about the library. While exploring various shopping malls on Orchard Road, I stumbled upon it, attracted by the multitude of shops in the area.

“Library Inside a Large Shopping Mall”

Installing a public library in a large shopping mall where stores selling goods or providing services such as clothing stores or accessory shops could potentially make more money is not an easy decision. It’s not an idea that would easily come to mind.

Despite being labeled a library in a shopping mall, one might assume it wouldn’t be sizable. However, when you actually visit, you find that it is quite spacious.

Inside, you can find a variety of books. Singapore is a multicultural society with multiple designated official languages, and even here, you can find books written in different languages. Fortunately, the majority of the books are in English.

“One of Singapore’s National Libraries”

This place is one of Singapore’s national libraries. Since it is owned and operated by the country, if you borrow a book from here, you can return it to any other “public library” and utilize interlibrary loan services.

“Library Emphasizing Wonderland Theme in Design”

Orchard Library is a library emphasizing design, themed around “Wonderland.” It is designed to provide an experience where people can enter a design resembling the rabbit hole and read books.

So far, I’ve shared a brief overview of the Orchard Library, a public library in a shopping mall in Singapore. Now that we have a landmark library called Starfield Library in Korea, which has become famous worldwide, and even earlier, there was a library that inspired our libraries called Starfield Library, it might be interesting to explore Orchard Library while traveling in Singapore.

“Singapore Orchard Road, Orchard Library”