What is Bookcross@SG?
ASK about Singapore
Bookcrossing is a world wide phenomenon. Anyone can join in this chain of free exchange of books. The concept of bookcrossing is that books will be left out in the wild, and anyone who chances upon the book, can pick it up to read. When that person has finished reading, leaves it out in the wild again, so that someone else can pick that book up! Books are literally crossing borders and seeing the world. (I still remember when I came across my first Bookcross novel: It was during my university days in Australia. I was heading home after classes, and there the book was, unassumingly, on the green-coloured bench across the university). Enough with the reminiscing..
In Singapore, this idea was introduced to the public on a larger scale by NLB. NLB launched BOOKCROSS@SG in July 2007, so it is still a relatively new idea to some Singaporeans. BOOKCROSS@SG operates similarly, except that in Singapore, there are ‘hotspots’ allocated to the releasing of books. Some of the ‘hotspots’ are Cafe Galilee located within some of the NLB branches, selected Cafe Cartel branches, and SMRT taxis. In future, when you visit these places, do keep a lookout for these books!
BOOKCROSS@SG also organizes monthly gatherings for fellow booklovers, like you and me, to meet and share their literary loves. It was just in January that BOOKCROSS@SG organised a cool tour to uncover Singapore’s literary history. Read more about said tour here
To check what’s in store for the next meet-up, go to http://bookcross.sg
To those who are already participating in Bookcross@SG, do share with us your experiences!
p.s Bookcrossing is the exchange of free books, so I appeal to the readers to release the books back to the ‘hotspots’ after perusing. Have fun bookcrossing!
Posted by Yen Yen Toh, Librarian, Adult and Young People’s Services
Found this question interesting? What do you think? Post your comments.
If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment.
Great post and love the layout of this! I was extremely honoured and pleased to have been in Singapore last year to kick this program off with NLB. I hope Singaporeans and visitors will continue to engage in this worldwide book service phenomenon!
Best,
Scott Sorochak
CEO BookCrossing, Inc.
Comment by scott sorochak — February 25, 2008 @ 11:48 pm
Hey Scott, great to hear from you here! Dunno if you remember me but I had dinner with you that nite with Ian, Joanna and Wai Ling (“Geminis are fantastic, spectacular, talented…”)
BookCross@SG just had a meetup last Friday and I joined in as well. It was really quite enjoyable and it’s very heartening to see the public slowly gaining awareness of this project.
Comment by Elizabeth — February 26, 2008 @ 12:05 pm
Does this really work? What about the return rate of the books crossed? In normal libraries, we have fines if borrowers returned the books after they are overdue, or lost. What about books in this crossing?
Comment by Wanda — July 27, 2009 @ 11:50 am
Does this really work? Are there cases where books are never crossed? Or left in the wild again after the reader read it?
Comment by Wanda — July 27, 2009 @ 11:54 am
Hi Wanda,
Well, there is no governing body to monitor the books or to impose fines! It really depends on each individual to return the books after they have picked it up. My guess is there are probably cases where the books are not left out in the wild.
Comment by yenyen — August 10, 2009 @ 3:02 pm
Hi Wanda, as Yen Yen has shared, BookCross@SG (BCSG) is an exchange cycle where books are “released” in various public spaces for members of public to pick, read and/or exchange. When it was first launched (July 2007), most of the BCSG books were sponsored by embassies and publishers. However, I’m glad to share with you that, as of last April, BCSG is completely supported by members of the public, a.k.a. personal donations. What’s more, this flow of donation is still going strong! We also have more ‘hotspot’ partners – ToastBox Vivocity and Great World City as well as Tolido Cafe @ Omnimax Theatre.
Given the nature of this programme, there’s no due date for BCSG books. However, book lovers are strongly encouraged to return the book to the ‘wild’ after they’ve finished it! If you’d like to find out the books that have been ‘caught’, ‘released’ or still ‘travelling’ (yet to be picked), you can visit our site at http://bookcross.sg or BCSG’s virtual bookshelves at http://www.bookcrossing.com (hyperlinks are also available on the homepage of the BCSG site).
Comment by Joanna (BCSG Proj. Mgr.) — August 14, 2009 @ 9:47 am
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