Star Wars pop-up library opens at Changi Airport Terminal 3

SINGAPORE – Visitors at Changi Airport can now travel to a galaxy far, far away – via a Star Wars-themed pop-up library.

Located on the second level of Terminal 3, the library offers fans of the popular movie and television franchise over 2,000 books and 380 unique titles revolving around the science-fiction universe created by George Lucas.

Iconic Star Wars backdrops are projected on digital screens, inviting fans to take selfies.

Patrons can also take a personality quiz to discover which Star Wars Jedi they are, or participate in a trivia challenge for bragging rights over the depth of their Star Wars knowledge.

Launched on Aug 6 by the National Library Board (NLB) in collaboration with Disney and Changi Airport Group, the pop-up library will run till Jan 24, 2026, from 10am to 10pm daily.

Adding to the sci-fi vibe, the library features NLB’s first automated book retrieval system: After a visitor selects a book at a touchscreen kiosk, a robotic arm will locate and transport it to the collection point. The books can be returned at the same location or any NLB branch islandwide.

Marketing manager Dave Png, 35, was among the first visitors at the pop-up library when it opened. A Star Wars fan with a collection of about five lightsabers, he said he had never seen so many Star Wars books in one place.

“It’s a good concept since Star Wars books may not be as well known as the movies,” he said. “Now Star Wars fans can find out more from the books as well.”

Mr Kazuki Ishii, a 39-year-old tourist from Osaka, Japan, was also wowed by the library.

“I’m so surprised and excited. The robot that helped retrieve the book adds to the fun experience,” said the primary school teacher who has been a Star Wars fan for over 20 years.

Bringing discovery to the public

The Star Wars pop-up library is one way NLB is enhancing the experience of reading, learning and discovery, as it turns 30 on Sept 1.

As part of its anniversary celebrations, NLB kicked off a series of events in June with the Book Bugs: Unearthing Memories exhibition, which features all 425 Book Bug cards, at the Asian Civilisations Museum. It will be on until Aug 17.

The Book Bugs programme, which has seen five editions since its launch in 2016, aims to inculcate a reading habit among the younger ones.

NLB also recently launched eight library pop-up nodes, from the National Library Building in Victoria Street to Orchard Road. Each node featured 90 titles in English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil that were selected by 30 Singaporean personalities such as performing artist Ebi Shankara, violinist Chloe Chua and writer-comedian Haryani Othman.

Besides pop-up libraries, other NLB nodes can be found at offices, parks, and food and beverage outlets.

The Presidential Pop-up Library at Plaza Singapura’s Outdoor Plaza showcases recommended reads by and on past and present presidents of Singapore. It started on July 12 and runs till Sept 2.

Since 2021, NLB has set up library nodes to bring content and services to public spaces like MRT stations, bus interchanges, shopping malls and parks to encourage spontaneous reading and discovery. It launched its first pop-up library – a

manga library at City Square Mall

– in 2023.

Speaking to The Straits Times, NLB chief executive Ng Cher Pong said: “As we start a new chapter, we will add to our regular library and archives services new experiences in reading, learning and discovery for our patrons. And many of the experiences we have or will launch will be omni-channel in nature.”

Besides enhancing experiences, NLB’s libraries and archives of the future must enable discovery, he said. “People come to discover new and unexpected things,” he said. “Many of these finds are serendipitous. We will better develop browsing as a service to enhance one of the key appeals of our physical spaces.”

In 2024, NLB

recorded 20.8 million visits to its libraries

, 2.86 million participants in library programmes, 38.8 million loans (both physical and digital), and 41.8 million user touchpoints through its expanding network of nodes.

While “the physical library has traditionally been a place where people come to use the space and borrow books”, it increasingly needs to be about experiences that will draw people in”, said Mr Ng.

Some of these experiences will integrate the physical with the digital; others will use technology to expand the libraries’ offerings.

NLB’s digital offerings include ChatBook, a generative artificial intelligence (AI) feature that interacts with users as they ask questions about a book; and StoryGen, an AI-powered tool that transforms text into multimedia stories.

Another digital experience is Glue: Curiocity, which connects Singapore’s historical narratives and hidden gems on an interactive platform. Users can explore lesser-known heritage sites, stories and local lore anchored to specific locations such as the former Jurong Drive-in Cinema and World Trade Centre at HarbourFront, encouraging discovery beyond traditional landmarks.

Curiocity will be available as part of the ticketed segment of the

SG60 Heart&Soul Experience

, which runs at Orchard Library from Aug 26 to Dec 31.

Beyond NLB30

NLB’s physical spaces will not be neglected, even as it pursues digital innovations.

It will be expanding its Rare Collections Gallery at the National Library Building with a $2.3 million donation from the Tun Tan Cheng Lock Trust. The space will quadruple in size, growing from its current 32 sq m to approximately 140 sq m by the end of 2027, to allow for a richer display of Singapore’s rare and precious collections.

Some libraries will be rejuvenated. The Bukit Batok Library will be twice its original size of around 1,300 sq m when it reopens in the first half of 2026 with new design and programme concepts. The Queenstown and Ang Mo Kio libraries are also slated for revamps.

In the works is a special exhibition in late 2026 featuring artefacts related to the four great classical Chinese novels – Journey To The West, Water Margin, Romance Of The Three Kingdoms, and Dream Of The Red Chamber. This is a collaboration with the National Library of China, which will be loaning the artefacts.

The exhibition, to be held at the National Library in Victoria Street, will showcase early editions of the classics and related materials from the 17th to 19th century, including woodblock prints, texts with scholarly commentary in the tradition of Chinese literature and historiography, and opera scripts.

Mr Ng said: “While we’ve always championed information literacy in schools, we’ve started thinking bigger, aiming to build an informed society instead of just informed library users.”