Current Exhibitions

Showcasing rare historical maps, Mapping the World: Perspectives from Asian Cartography brings together different mapping traditions and worldviews, political and cultural spheres of influence, and the exchange of cartographic knowledge between civilisations across the world.

Since the opening of the first branch library in Queenstown in 1970, public libraries in Singapore have gone through a dramatic transformation. Journey with us from the past to present in this exciting exhibition. Discover how much our public libraries have evolved and will continue to grow in the future!

Discover stories of Singapore newspapers in the National Library’s collection dating from the 1820s and learn about significant episodes from Singapore’s history through the perspectives of different media. Gain insights into fake news, and learn how you can be more discerning about information and media, through our rich resources on newspapers.

Throughout our history, the library has been an integral part of Singapore’s cultural and social fabric as well as its residents. The exhibition traces the founding, development and growth of the National Library, Singapore from 1823 till present.

Donations of library materials to the National Library play a significant role in adding diversity and depth to our collection and are instrumental in assisting the library to obtain notable National Collection items. This Donors’ Gallery was set up to acknowledge our donors and showcase their donations. On display is a small selection of materials which provides a glimpse of the variety of materials that have been gifted to the National Library over the years.

The Rare Collection Gallery showcases treasures from the National Library’s Rare Materials Collection of valuable research materials on Singapore and Southeast Asia. Comprising over 15,000 books, journals, manuscripts, maps, photographs and ephemera, many of the items in the collection were inherited from the National Library’s predecessors – the Singapore Library (1844–1874) and the Raffles Museum and Library (1874–1960). The collection is also further enhanced by recent donations from institutions and individuals.