Read magazines, books on your commute as NLB enters SMRT train stations, bus interchanges
SINGAPORE - Commuters can virtually “pick up” e-magazines and books curated by the National Library Board (NLB) before they begin their journeys at seven train stations and bus interchanges run by transport operator SMRT.
The Nodes initiative kicked off on Tuesday at two of the seven transport facilities. These are at one end of the North-South Line platform of Woodlands MRT station, and between Berths 1 and 13 at the bus interchange of the Woodlands Integrated Transport Hub.
It will be rolled out to the other five facilities in the coming weeks, said SMRT and NLB. These are the Bishan, Orchard and Tiong Bahru MRT stops, as well as the Bukit Panjang Integrated Transport Hub and Choa Chu Kang bus interchange.
All seven “nodes” will be available for public use until March 2024.
The tie-up is part of NLB’s move to bring the library experience into everyday spaces and is in line with SMRT’s efforts to enrich commutes, they said.
At Woodlands, each node takes the form of wall stickers displaying a curated selection of eight titles with individual QR (quick response) codes that commuters can scan. The collection varies at every node.
Some of the available titles are Time magazine, National Geographic and Reader’s Digest. Shows from NLB’s YouTube playlist are also available and will be refreshed every month.
SMRT and NLB said that for a start, they identified a mix of locations for these nodes, including those near residential areas and in the city.
“For example, Orchard MRT station was chosen based on its high footfall and accessibility, given its prime location in the city centre.”
On the selection of titles, Mr Winston Tan, NLB’s deputy director of planning and development, said more e-magazines are being rolled out, since commuters may not have enough time during their commute to read an entire novel or self-help book.
This initiative comes after a similar one – with interactive installations – was rolled out in several shopping malls in 2021 and physical second-hand book exchange corners were introduced at parks in 2022.
Mr Tan said NLB is confident the latest initiative would take off on account of the positive reception for the previous initiatives and the convenience of being able to read new material without visiting libraries.
At the launch of the initiative at the Woodlands Integrated Transport Hub on Tuesday, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Transport Baey Yam Keng said it leverages the reach of public transport facilities to promote a culture of reading and a spirit of lifelong learning among commuters.
He added: “Why only seven (nodes)? We can do more, but we need commuters’ support... to spread it to more MRT stations and bus interchanges, so (we can) bring online resources closer to our commuters.”
Some commuters whom ST interviewed welcomed the new nodes in Woodlands.
Freelance guide Evelyn Low, 48, said she enjoys reading travel-related magazines and appreciates how these e-reads could transport her to faraway places she would like to explore.
Madam Jennies Ong, a 46-year-old housewife, said the QR codes would allow her book-loving children to read e-magazines on the go and make better use of their time instead of being engrossed in mobile games.
But other commuters such as Ms Chermaine Chee disagreed.
The 25-year-old prefers using Libby, a third-party app that allows users to access NLB’s resources, since she is familiar with the platform.
“Even if I see a title that looks interesting, I would probably look it up first to borrow on the Libby app,” added the sales operations specialist.
“I’m not really inclined to scan random QR codes when I have a reliable source to read books from."
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