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Purpose – The purpose of this article is to examine the inter-war history of the Raffles Library in Singapore with the aim of understanding what the management of the library believed its role should be as well as the role others in that society considered that it should fulfill. Design/methodology/approach – The article is based on historical research using archival sources. Findings – To a great extent the management of the library narrowly construed the institution's mission in terms of appealing to that class of persons likely to become paying members – that is, the European elite and its high-level local collaborators. Financial constraints, relations between the library and museum as well as prevalent negative attitudes regarding class and race in colonial society are likely reasons for the lack of sustained attention to non-European populations. Originality/value – The library history of much of Asia remains relatively unexplored, especially from a viewpoint that stresses the importance of social context to library structure and operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to show how the library management of the Raffles Library and Museum (the former name of the National Library of Singapore) positioned the library in relation to the wider colonial society of which it was a part. More widely, the aim is to explore the role of libraries within a colonial setting. Design/methodology/approach - The paper takes the form of historical research using archival materials. Findings - The paper finds that the Raffles Library and Museum responded to the needs of two kinds of users: the potentially wayward colonist in need of "wholesome" recreation and the scientist/scholar involved in making Singapore a regional centre for the production of colonial knowledge. Originality/value - While knowledge-producing institutions such as botanical gardens, zoological parks, museums of natural and human history, as well as anthropological and geographical societies now feature prominently in discussions of British colonialism, the colonial library has been overlooked. This paper represents a start at bringing the colonial library into focus as an institutional node designed to sustain colonial endeavors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]