SINGAPORE – As a child, DPM Lawrence Wong spent nearly every Saturday afternoon in the old Marine Parade Library reading for hours on end. He and his brother would go through the books in the new arrivals section, then carefully choose the ones to borrow to read at home, he said.
Speaking at the opening of Punggol Regional Library on Wednesday, he said libraries remain a special place in the community, and books are still important despite the proliferation of smartphones and social media.
“People were once convinced the book industry would suffer and eventually die off. But in recent years, we have seen a rebound in book sales across many countries. Certainly, in Singapore, people have been reading books more regularly over the years,” said Mr Wong.
“More fundamentally, I believe all of us – both adults and children – innately desire deeper connections with the world…
