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SINGAPORE \u2013 The National Library Board (NLB) is encouraging people to develop a consistent reading habit with virtual coins that can eventually be exchanged for cash.<\/p>\n
As part of a new five-year national reading movement called ReadSG, NLB is calling on people to sign up to government crowdsourcing site CrowdTaskSG, where people can log their daily reading sessions to collect virtual coins.<\/p>\n
A thousand coins can be exchanged for $1 on the portal run by the Government Technology Agency. NLB is still working out the commensurate reward for tasks, which are likely to be linked to at least 15 minutes of reading each day.<\/p>\n
NLB chief executive officer Melissa Tam revealed the new gamification initiative at a briefing for ReadSG on July 28, with the library hoping to battle the trend towards \u201cshort-form, skimmable content\u201d antithetical to critical thinking.<\/p>\n
There will also be a parallel Read for Good charity drive, where 15 minutes of reading each day will help raise funds for selected charities. NLB has set a target of 150,000 sign-ups for both initiatives as a \u201cfirst step\u201d.<\/p>\n
Tam, who took on her post in November 2025, said: \u201cThe digital age is changing how we consume and process information. The key idea we want to share with Singapore is that reading is good exercise for the mind. It is enjoyable. It\u2019s easy to start and sustain, and we hope that we can make it a habit together.\u201d<\/p>\n
The campaign, ReadSG, replaces the decade-old National Reading Movement and starts in September. The 15 minutes of reading each day takes partial inspiration from the popular target of 10,000 steps of walking each day first marketed in Japan and which has become common knowledge.<\/p>\n
Performing a task for 15 minutes daily has been said to be an easy threshold to build positive habits.<\/p>\n
Tam added: \u201cThe focus right now has been on physical health, but there is growing awareness that a holistic view of health encompasses the mental and cognitive as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not necessarily a specific number that we\u2019re after. It can be different for different people, and that is completely okay, but the reason we are suggesting 15 minutes daily is really to get it started.\u201d<\/p>\n
ReadSG pulls together a host of old and new programmes. NLB\u2019s annual book giveaway, which in 2025 attracted more than 10,000 people over a weekend, is part of the reading drive and will take place on Sept 19 and 20.<\/p>\n
On Sept 6, there will also be a book and art marketplace, with NLB hosting a \u201cmass reading activity\u201d, where people can come together to read. This is the launch event for ReadSG and will be attended by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who is the campaign patron.<\/p>\n
Tam said NLB is still working out the metrics and quantifiable targets across the five years that will help it better measure success.<\/p>\n
Its first reading movement was the 2005 READ! Singapore, followed by the National Reading Movement launched in 2016, yet two decades of efforts have struggled to hold back the migration online and the exponentially increasing hours people spend doomscrolling on social media.<\/p>\n
A 2024 NLB study found that only 28 per cent of Singapore adults now read books weekly, though this number rises to about nine in 10 when news, articles on social media and websites are included.<\/p>\n
Tam cited a separate international study called Progress In International Reading Literacy Study, last conducted in 2021, that found that the percentage of Singapore students and their parents who said they \u201cenjoyed reading a lot\u201d had also fallen consistently from 60 per cent in 2011 to about 50 per cent now.<\/p>\n
ReadSG will include more programmes that are still being worked on.<\/p>\n
NLB is partnering entities, including the Early Childhood Development Agency, the Ministry of Education, the Health Promotion Board, the Agency for Integrated Care and other private companies, so that it can tailor programmes and reach people where they are in different life stages.<\/p>\n
Tam said: \u201cBoth the previous reading campaigns have encouraged people to read. The element that is different this time is our encouragement for people to build it as a habit.<\/p>\n
\u201cBuilding this national reading culture isn\u2019t going to just be done by NLB alone. It\u2019s going to require a nationwide effort.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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