MOLLY, the library on wheels introduced by the National Library Board (NLB), delighted our clients and even our staff as it parked itself outside the SPD Ability Centre at 10am on 13 July and stayed to delight all in SPD till 4pm. In particular, 18 children from the Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children (EIPIC) took turns to visit MOLLY with their teachers that day.

Gan Xin Ying, an EIPIC Teacher, remarked, “This is a good exposure for our children as some of them have never been to a library before.”

Among those making their maiden library visit is Choon Yan, who was thrilled that she got a chance to register as a member, explore the books available and bring some books home.

Isiah Teo was observed jumping up and down, smiling as he exclaimed: “(I am) so happy!(I) like the library bus, (because I) can borrow books!” The 5-year-old ended the trip to MOLLY by borrowing nine books.

Kwek Jian Min, an intern on the EIPIC team, added: “The librarians on board MOLLY are very engaging and helpful. I can see the children really enjoyed themselves, especially those who have not been to a library before. This is such a good opportunity for them to have access to books.”

Associate Librarian, Ms Lee Siow Ting, was on board MOLLY and she introduced the children to the wide collection of nearly 3,000 books catered for children as young as three to adulthood. There were also books of different languages.

MOLLY is fitted with a hydraulic wheelchair lift to enable persons with physical disabilities to access the library. According to Ms Lee, MOLLY can accommodate up to five adult wheelchairs at any one time.

MOLLY was a hit with the adults as well. It was visited by clients from the Day Activity Centre and the Sheltered Workshop. SPD staff was also seen entering MOLLY and checking out the books over the course of the day.

Cindy Low, a speech therapist with EIPIC, shared: “We started planning for the MOLLY visits back in February. This has been four months in the making and I am so glad it has come to fruition for the children. The NLB has been very accommodating and even offered to stock books catered for our specific needs at their next visit.”

This request has been happily welcomed by teachers Ang Su Ling and Gan Xing Ying who have asked for more sensory and interactive books as well as award-winning titles for the children.

At the end of the day, everyone on board MOLLY took back a joyful and enriching experience.

MOLLY is a mobile library that is specially made to be able to travel around. It has been spreading the joy of reading since the 1960s! The mobile library aims to reach out to the under-served community – including orphans and those with special needs – who would not be able to visit the library on their own due to mobility issues.

Look out for MOLLY when she visits SPD Ability Centre again soon on these dates – 23 August, 21 September, 20 October, and 2 November.