Qui Vivra Verra - Project Overview
The National Library Board (NLB) is a statutory board of the Ministry of Communications and Information in Singapore. Strategically scattered over the island, the NLB has up to 27 Regional and Community Libraries under its arm. Each library seeks to provide a unique value-added service to its local community, and the Regional Libraries are able to extend its outreach to areas further away. To cater to the nation-state’s ever-changing needs, upgrading projects may be conducted on existing libraries and new libraries may be erected to cater to the increasing population size. Such changes will affect the flow of patrons to the libraries located elsewhere. However, it is difficult to predict the changes to the demand of a given library when the above-mentioned changes occur.
The proposed method involves creating a geospatial dashboard for the NLB staff to conduct what-if analyses to understand changes in library demand when a library is shifted from its location. Where is the best location for a new library in Singapore? How will the patronage levels for the libraries change if this particular library is closed for upgrading projects? These are questions that we seek to answer in a scientific way, using patron insights from the library combined with data analytic techniques. The geospatial dashboard will give the NLB an overview of all the libraries in Singapore, and future policies and implementations will be facilitated with a better understanding of the library network effect.
- Demand capture area of libraries
- Patronage levels of libraries
- Associated operational-related variables e.g. sub-zones served, distance to the nearest transport network (MRT station and/or bus stop)
