Old National Library Building - History

History

The Singapore National Library traces its roots to Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of modern Singapore, who in 1823 started a small private collection of books housed in the Raffles Institution. This was known as Raffles Library, and access to the collection was limited to the British and privileged class. Dr. Robert Morrison, an eminent missionary and educator became the first librarian from 1823 to 1845. He was mainly responsible for establishing the plans with Raffles and soliciting book donations for the Library.

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