5 Gorgeous Libraries In Singapore For Quiet Work And Study Time

Go to the contentGo to the footerNo thanksSubscribe

🙌Awesome, you're subscribed!

Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!

The best of Singapore straight to your inbox

We help you navigate a myriad of possibilities. Sign up for our newsletter for the best of the city.

Enter email addressDéjà vu! We already have this email. Try another?

By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.

No thanks

Awesome, you're subscribed!

Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!

Love the mag?

Our newsletter hand-delivers the best bits to your inbox. Sign up to unlock our digital magazines and also receive the latest news, events, offers and partner promotions.

Enter email address

Déjà vu! We already have this email. Try another?

No thanks

By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.

Photograph: via National Gallery Singapore6 gorgeous libraries in Singapore for quiet work and study time

These inspired spaces will help you get into the work flow

Friday 12 July 2024ShareCopy LinkFacebookTwitterPinterestEmailWhatsAppWritten by Cheryl SekkappanEditor, Singapore and AsiaContributor: Xiao Qing WanAdvertising

Work from home is great and all, but sometimes the four walls of your room or personal study are too much of the same thing for you to be at your most productive. Once in a while, it helps to venture outside to quiet cafés or public spaces to some serious headway in exam revisions, an important presentation, or simply in your reading goals. There are many public libraries in Singapore that can do the trick – though, for some extra inspiration, we suggest you head to these beautifully designed libraries.

RECOMMENDED: The best quiet cafés with free Wifi to do work or study and 8 cool and hidden streets in Singapore to explore

Been there, done that? Think again, my friend.

Sign up to our newsletter to enjoy Singapore without spending a thing (as well as options when you're feeling flush).Enter email addressDéjà vu! We already have this email. Try another?

By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.

🙌Awesome, you're subscribed!

Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!

Singapore's most beautiful libraries

Rotunda Gallery and Archives

• Art
• City Hall

There's no grander library in Singapore than the Rotunda Gallery & Archives. Nestled within the National Gallery Singapore, this museum library stuns with Roman-style columns that reach up towards a domed ceiling, where natural light pours through a ring of arched windows. This hidden gem is home to an extensive collection of books and exhibition catalogues on Southeast Asian modern art, painstakingly built up through years of donations, partnerships and exchanges with libraries around the world. While researchers have the most reason to visit the Rotunda Library, the place is also open to walk-in visitors on weekdays, who are free to check out the collection and relax in quiet reading nooks dotted about the space.

Read moreBook online

Bishan Public Library

• Attractions
• Libraries, archives and foundations
• Bishan

Bishan Public Library is sure to make your head turn. Designed by Look Architects, this four-story building was inspired by treehouses as a metaphor for play and discovery. Colourful stained glass panels create a dappled light effect within the library, like sunlight through the leaves; and you'll want to snag a seat in one of the library's suspended reading alcoves too – depending on which alcove you're in, you get a bird's eye view of either the road outside or the activities within the library for some people watching during work or study breaks.

Read moreAdvertising

Library@Orchard

• Things to do
• Orchard

This is the perfect modern library. The white walls and shelving immediately put the mind at ease, narrowly avoiding a clinical feel thanks to the undulating waveforms created by curved bookshelves. They make a particularly pretty picture when viewed from the staircase leading up to the second floor. Opened in 2014, library@orchard offers a vast array of titles across fiction, lifestyle, design and art, making it the perfect pitstop when shopping in the city.

Read more

Library of Botany and Horticulture

• Things to do
• Tanglin

Nestled within the Singapore Botanic Gardens, this quiet library was founded in 1875 and boasts a collection of over 120,000 items and 30,000 books related to science and horticulture. Find a book and settle into one of the rattan chairs, or check out the herbarium display – around 100 specimens of common plants in Singapore can be found here. While borrowing books is not allowed in the Library of Botany and Horticulture, a photocopying service is available for a small fee.

Read moreAdvertising

Library@Harbourfront

• Things to do
• Harbourfront

With huge windows that overlook Sentosa, the spectacular waterfront views at the reading lounge in library@harbourfront would make anyone feel like they're reading by the beach. Take a break from the busy mall and step inside the library where you will find over 200,000 volumes of books, conducive reading and learning spaces for children, teens and adults, learning pods, augmented reality books and enhanced services for both avid readers and those keen to learn.

Read more

Yale-NUS Library

Studying for exams would be a lot less painful with a library that looks like the one at Yale-NUS. This zen-like space is defined by soothing cream walls, plush carpeted flooring, wooden lattices and, of course – floor-to-ceiling windows that allow sunlight to flood the place. No gloomy or oppressive library vibes here. The Study Space used to be open to members of the public during select hours, but visitors are now required to request an Entry Pass to use the libraries in NUS.

Read more

The best reading spots in Singapore

• Things to do

Read more

The best beautiful and hidden beaches in Singapore

• Things to do

Read moreAdvertising

8 cool and hidden streets in Singapore to explore

• Things to do
• Walks and tours

Read more

Been there, done that? Think again, my friend.

Sign up to our newsletter to enjoy Singapore without spending a thing (as well as options when you're feeling flush).Enter email addressDéjà vu! We already have this email. Try another?

By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.

🙌Awesome, you're subscribed!

Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!

Been there, done that? Think again, my friend.

Sign up to our newsletter to enjoy Singapore without spending a thing (as well as options when you're feeling flush).Email addressDéjà vu! We already have this email. Try another?

By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.

🙌Awesome, you're subscribed!

Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!

Recommended

[image][title]

Popular on Time Out

[image]

[category]

[title]

Latest newsMore news

[image]

[category]

[title]

Discover Time Out original video

 

AdvertisingEnter email addressDéjà vu! We already have this email. Try another?

By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.

🙌 Awesome, you're subscribed!

Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!

Back to TopClose

An email you'll actually love

Email addressDéjà vu! We already have this email. Try another?

By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.

🙌 Awesome, you're subscribed!

Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!

instagramtiktokfacebooktwitteryoutube

About us

• Press office
• Investor relations
• Our awards
• Work for Time Out
• Editorial guidelines
• Privacy notice
• Do not sell my information
• Cookie policy
• Accessibility statement
• Terms of use
• Modern slavery statement
• Manage cookies

Contact us

• Sign up to newsletter
• Get Listed
• Advertising
• Express Advertising
• Time Out Market

Time Out products

• Time Out Worldwide

Time Out magazine

• Print edition
• Digital edition

Site Map© 2026 Time Out England Limited and affiliated companies owned by Time Out Group Plc. All rights reserved. Time Out is a registered trademark of Time Out Digital Limited.