You Can Hop On A Bus-Turned-Pop-up Library & Read Original Local Comics, No Borrowing Card Required

Bus-turned-pop-up library

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It has become second nature for us to idly scroll through an endless selection of Shorts, Reels, and TikToks while on the bus. If you’re looking to kick your brainrot habit, now’s your chance: a few buses around Singapore will be transformed into pop-up libraries featuring stories created by local artists.

You don’t even need a library card, as the buses will feature QR codes you can scan and dive immediately into a comic about a sage slayer or a talkative pup. Here’s what you need to know about the pop-up libraries and which buses are involved.

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Read comic books created by local artists on your next bus ride

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Image credit: NLB

The mobile pop-up library on the buses will feature 2 comics created by local artists: Talkdog by Johnny Lau and Nick Tan which explores the friendship between a man and his talking dog, and Utama by Johnny Lau, Luqmaan Haziq, and Lim Jun Yong, about a sage slayer named after our founder, Sang Nila Utama.

Each of these comics has 5 episodes, with new episodes released biweekly; the first 2 episodes are already out, and the next 3 will come out on 29th October, 12th November, and 26th November respectively.

All you have to do to read these comics is to scan the QR code on these “mobile nodes” on the posters on the back of the bus seats.

Image credit: NLB

If your bus ride is super long and you’ve already zoomed through the comic episodes, you can also scan the QR codes to browse through a wide variety of eNewspapers, popular eBooks, and other eMagazines curated by NLB.

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What bus routes will feature the pop-up library?

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Image credit: NLB

10 bus services around Singapore will feature the pop-up library: 13, 31, 52, 74, 93, 141, 151, 506, 852, and 966. These buses have been chosen as their routes pass through various Institutes of Higher Learning around Singapore, and the comics were created with tertiary students in mind. But that’s not stopping your millennial self from reading them, too!

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Check out the NLB bus pop-up libraries

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This initiative by NLB is an example of how libraries are no longer just buildings we can visit after school – reading can now happen straight from your commute, letting you transform those idle moments into something a little bit more meaningful.

If you can’t find the opportunity to catch those buses, you can also read Talkdog and Utama on the NLB website.

Find out more about Singapore’s culture:

• 9 next-level library features you didn’t know existed
• 13 secret facts of Singapore with “Today I Learnt” potential
• Iconic places featured in Singapore Airlines’ new in-flight safety video

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Cover image credit: NLB