The Singapore Library (1845-1874), a subscription library with 32 founding proprietary shareholders, opened on 22 January 1845 in the North Wing of the Singapore Institution. It inherited the holdings of the Singapore Institution Library (1837-1844), of which the 1838 and 1843 catalogues are listed in this archive, as well as some additional loans and donations from some of its proprietors. The library opened with an initial stock of approximately 404 titles or 895 volumes (including periodicals). The library’s stated focus in 1846 was on ‘new Novels, Voyages, Travels and other popular new works of General Literature’.
By 1860 the library contained 1,158 titles, with novels and tales amounting to 452 titles (or 39% of the library’s holdings); histories, voyages, and travels 313 titles (27%); biography 174 titles (15%); general literature 135 titles (12%); divinity 26 titles (5%); and poetry and drama 58 titles (2%). Despite a limited number of female subscribers, female novelists are well represented in the library. The holdings also reflect the management committee’s desire that ‘any valuable new publications on India, China, or other Eastern British Settlement’ are ‘to have the first consideration on all occasions’, suggesting that the library was attempting to build up a collection of early ethnographic and geographic works on the region.
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