A Report on the Strategic Changes in Singapore Library System

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the strategic changes implemented by the National Library Board (NLB) in Singapore. It examines the mission of NLB to enhance learning opportunities through a national library network, emphasizing the impact of technological advancements and leadership on the library system. The report highlights key changes, including increased visitor numbers, expanded collections, and membership growth, attributing these successes to a combination of factors. These factors include a flexible organizational structure, technological renovations (such as the CARL system), and strategic human resource management. The report also details the implementation of an e-library feature and the importance of a professional and engaged staff. The changes were implemented in a coordinated sequence, emphasizing the importance of technically skilled personnel and effective training programs, and the shift in organizational structure to maintain effectiveness, showcasing how leadership, technology, and human resources were interrelated and crucial for the library's transformation. The report also references supporting literature to validate the findings.

Running head: STRATEGIC CHANGES IN SINGAPORE LIBRARY
STRATEGIC CHANGES IN SINGAPORE LIBRARY
Name of the student:
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Author Note:

1STRATEGIC CHANGES IN SINGAPORE LIBRARY
Table of Contents
Answer 1....................................................................................................................................2
Answer 2....................................................................................................................................3
Answer 3....................................................................................................................................4
References..................................................................................................................................5

2STRATEGIC CHANGES IN SINGAPORE LIBRARY
Answer 1
The mission of the National Library Board (NLB) at Singapore aimed at increasing
the learning opportunities of the people of the nation by implementing a national network of
libraries and resource centres for information in order to support the progressive
advancements of the country. The country itself was advancing in various aspects and
Internet was a common phenomenon in every home (Moran & Morner, 2017). The people of
the nation were workaholics and preferred their children to adapt reading habits to become a
learned citizen. On the other hand, the libraries in Singapore lacked adequate facilities and
services to attract the readers and thus, the government prioritized on improving the library
system of the nation.
The changes in the library system were significant and noticeable because after the
renovation of the libraries in six years, the number of visitors increased to four times, the
collection of the libraries raised to three times and the membership count doubled in number.
According to the chief executive of the NLB, Mr Chia, incorporating a highly motivating
staff who will implement modern marketing along with information technology in the library
system will bring effective results in attracting the millennial of the generation. Hence,
recruiting the right people for the newly renovated system was a successful strategic step
from the board directors (Bryson, 2017). In addition, the renovation in the library system in
terms of technical aspects was another strategic move that proved to be highly successful
amongst the members of the libraries. The NLB was determined to create an e-library feature
such that the members can access to the repository from anywhere and at any time (Jordan &
Lloyd, 2017). Thus, the virtual network created amongst the library members promoted to the
social interaction through online platforms and strengthened the bonding of the community of
readers.

3STRATEGIC CHANGES IN SINGAPORE LIBRARY
Answer 2
The changes in the system of the libraries in Singapore were based on the framework
of three components: a) flexible structure and the effective managing system of the
organizational leaders, b) technological renovation that streamlined the library operations and
increase efficiency in the services and c) recruiting technically skilled people and retaining
the human resources with effective training structures.
The chief executive of the boards Mr Chia believed in three philosophies: a
professional attitude, a successful partnership and the people or the human resources. Thus,
being a successful leader himself, he engaged the professional librarians in the newly made
libraries of the system who were aware of the needs of the customers and could deliver the
services in the best ways possible (McCord et al., 2017). He believed in Laissez-faire
leadership style and allowed the librarians to experiment with new mechanisms without
questioning their talent. He started implementing changes in the system simultaneously such
that the impact of the changes turns out to be faster. One change at a time would have slowed
down the process. Since every small change in the system had effect on the others, he
coordinated all the changes and collaborated on multiple fronts for a simultaneous effect.
The technological changes in the library system created a huge impact on the
transactions of the library. The leader of NLB transformed the 10-year-old library system to a
robust automated system or more specifically the CARL system to handle the transactions,
manage the loans, and monitor the membership and late fine information (Erb et al., 2017).
The new back-end system incorporated 75 million transactions of loans in a year that was a
significant rise. The other back-end systems were the human resources, the finance and the
information systems to that automated the HR related activities and proved effective in
cutting time down. The human resources comprised of the Senior Librarians, the Library
Officers and their assistants and the Library Attendants who were successful in their job roles

4STRATEGIC CHANGES IN SINGAPORE LIBRARY
because they were enthusiastic about the whole renovation process. Hence, all these factors
are interrelated with each other because without an effective leadership, the libraries would
not have incorporated such new changes. Furthermore, the changes in technology would not
have been possible without the trained human resources.
Answer 3
The order in which the changes were happening in the NLB were in proper sequence
and this was highly required to maintain the effectiveness of the system. The hiring process
of the librarians and other posts changed effectively such that the technically trained people
are incorporated in the system who will provide the required customer services. The
hierarchical structure of the organization too changed after the recruitment process in order to
maintain a reporting structure (Karplus, 2017). The standard training processes were arranged
after which performance was evaluated of the librarians. The next step was to bring the
library to the people and it was seen that the increase in the accessibility time of the library
was beneficial for both the library and the readers.

5STRATEGIC CHANGES IN SINGAPORE LIBRARY
References
Bryson, J. (2017). Effective library and information centre management. Routledge.
Erb, K. H., Luyssaert, S., Meyfroidt, P., Pongratz, J., Don, A., Kloster, S., ... & Haberl, H.
(2017). Land management: data availability and process understanding for global
change studies. Global change biology, 23(2), 512-533.
Jordan, P., & Lloyd, C. (2017). Staff management in library and information work. Taylor &
Francis.
Karplus, S. S. (2017). Integrating academic library resources and learning management
systems: The library Blackboard site. Education Libraries, 29(1), 5-11.
McCord, P., Dell'Angelo, J., Baldwin, E., & Evans, T. (2017). Polycentric transformation in
Kenyan water governance: A dynamic analysis of institutional and social‐ecological
change. Policy Studies Journal, 45(4), 633-658.
Moran, B. B., & Morner, C. J. (2017). Library and information center management. ABC-
CLIO.