Bringing Books Closer: Evaluating a Mobile Library Programme for Children

"Originally an effort to bring library services to children living in rural districts, NLB’s mobile library service today continues its aims to of making library services more accessible to Singapore’s children. The study highlights that regular visits to Molly can empower low-income families by giving them more access to books, improving their children’s reading enjoyment and frequency, and directing them to public library services."

Excerpt from Reading with MOLLY Today, BiblioAsia

Project Team

To uplift our young people, we need to ensure that all families have opportunities to access reading resources. Raising awareness of such resources, providing parental education and closing psychological and social barriers to utilising library services are ways to support children’s access to reading materials and development reading enjoyment.

Funded by the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, this study sought:

1. To understand the reading resources and needs of families living in two rental blocks in one Singapore neighbourhood;
2. To examine how they utilise MOLLY, a mobile library service offered by NLB, over six months; and
3. To evaluate MOLLY's impact on children’s reading gains (i.e. improvements in reading enjoyment, frequency and proficiency).

In the first phase, the team conducted door-to-door surveys with 37 families living in two blocks of rental flats to gather information about their reading resources and their use of the MOLLY bus that had been visiting the neighbourhood. In the second phase, 11 children from 8 families committed to visit the MOLLY bus regularly for six months (“the intervention”). The research team tracked the children’s reading development and enjoyment as well as the families’ responses to the intervention.

This study demonstrated that while families living in rental blocks may have access to fewer books at home, they recognized the importance of reading in English. Lack of awareness about the MOLLY bus meant that the families had not been utilising the library services in their neighbourhood.

The findings also revealed that families who committed to visiting the mobile library regularly with their children reported an increase in their children’s reading enjoyment and frequency. Significantly, parents reported that learning how to use the NLB app to extend book loans was crucial to helping them navigate the library system. These families continued to visit MOLLY and the public library even after the intervention concluded, indicating a sustained impact of the programme.

An evaluation guide is provided at the end of the report. The study may offer a model of evaluation for improvement to other non-profit organisations seeking to encourage reading with disadvantaged communities.

• Raise awareness of MOLLY services through printed posters, flyers and WhatsApp reminders. We should not assume that families are aware of the services and timings of resources.
  
• Educate parents about library membership and how to use library-related technology. We found that once parents were aware of library rules and learnt how to use the technology for borrowing and extensions, they became less worried about overdue books and fines and were more willing to help their children borrow books.
  
• Plan interesting programming to attract young families to the mobile library services. Programmes such as the highly popular Book Bugs Reading Promotion can incentivize children to visit the bus and borrow more books.
  
• Collaborate with community partners such as library CCA students, UPLIFT and other stakeholders to raise awareness, develop learning journeys and cultivate joy in reading.

Resources

Featured in media:

• Loh, C. E. (2025, February 13). Time up on Your Child’s iPad? Now Put a Book in Their Hands. Retrieved from https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/time-up-on-your-childs-ipad-now-put-a-book-in-their-hands. 
  
  
• 1.5 million loans, 840,000 visitors and counting, NLB mobile libraries keep reading accessible. Retrieved from https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/parenting-education/1-5-million-loans-840000-visitors-and-counting-nlbs-mobile-library-keeps-reading-on-the-move 

Report 

• Loh, C. E., Sun, B., Koh, Y. Q., Pour, J. & Chang, W. C. (2024). Reading with MOLLY: Evaluating Reading Gain from a Mobile Library Intervention in a Low- Income Neighbourhood. Singapore: National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University. https://hdl.handle.net/10497/29434

Article

• Loh, C. E., Koh, Y. Q. (2025). Reading with Molly Today. BiblioAsia. Volume 21 (2). Jul-Sept 2025. https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/vol-21/issue-2/jul-sep-2025/reading-molly-national-library-board/

  Undergraduate Research Experience on Campus (URECA) paper

• Pour. J., Loh, C. E., Sun, B. Q. (2023). Why Are They Falling Behind? Evaluating the Reading Needs of Children in Two Rental Flats. URECA@NTU. https://hdl.handle.net/10356/201270
  

Pre-Print

• Loh, C. E., & Koh, Y. Q. (2025). Mobile libraries bridging literacy divides and fostering social cohesion: A PRISMA review of mobile library initiatives [Unpublished manuscript]. https://hdl.handle.net/10497/29320