The National Library Board (NLB) is piloting a new initiative where members can borrow library materials online and have them delivered to their doorstep.

This new service, called "Borrow-n-Deliver", starts today (Jun. 12).

With Borrow-n-Deliver, NLB patrons can select up to four library items, including books, magazines, and audio-visual materials via NLB’s e-Catalogue, and have them delivered to their homes island-wide.

It costs S$8 (before GST).

The items will be delivered from Mondays to Fridays, between 9am and 6pm.

They will arrive within one week, excluding weekends and public holidays.

Notifications will be sent at multiple points to keep patrons updated on the status of their order, from its confirmation to its delivery.

The year-long pilot initiative will run till the end of May 2024.

This service is only available to NLB members (membership is free for Singaporeans, by the way).

To utilise it, members must have no unpaid fees or charges in their membership accounts. They must also not have maximised their loan quota allowed under their membership.

How to get your books delivered

Once you find the library item in NLB's e-Catalogue, tap on the "Borrow-n-Deliver" button.

Tap on "Add to Cart". You can add up to four items before checking out.

Occasionally, NLB may not be able to locate items that have been ordered. If your order comprises three or four items, you will be asked to select one of the following fulfilment types when placing your order:

• Complete Fulfilment: NLB will deliver your order only if all items can be retrieved (you will not be charged if the order cannot be fulfilled).
• Partial Fulfilment: NLB will deliver your order if at least two items can be retrieved.

After placing your order and keying in your payment details (only credit card and debit card options are available), you will receive an overview of your order. You will also receive an email notification.

Part of efforts to make reading more accessible

This service, said NLB, aims to make it even more convenient for patrons, especially time-challenged individuals and families.

NLB also said that the service is the result of feedback from patrons that "an on-demand delivery service for physical books would be helpful".

This is part of NLB’s efforts under LAB25 (Libraries & Archives Blueprint 2025) to enable reading and learning anywhere and everywhere.

Aside from Borrow-n-Deliver, NLB has been launching other initiatives that encourage reading.

In 2020, NLB introduced The Little Book Box, a book subscription service that curates a set of books for kids every month.

The curated list covers a wide range of genres to pique the childrens' interests.

Since the roll-out, The Little Book Box has been reaching the homes of an average of more than 1,000 monthly subscribers, with more than 220,000 children’s books delivered thus far.

Many patrons have given positive feedback about the selection of books, said NLB.

Additionally, NLB has, for some time now, been making a wide range of e-books available free for borrowing.

These are conveniently available via the NLB app, the Libby app, as well as selected e-book readers.

Top images: Marcel Strauß on Unsplash