The Casual Poet Library: A Crowd-Sourced Library
In this library, ~180 individuals meticulously curate their own shelves, sharing their personal reading recommendations with the community. Let’s have a browse around, shall we?
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It’s nice and calm in here. On a table to one side, a jar of tea steams serenely over a candle. I was late, and my entrance felt like an immediate abrasion against the peace of this space.
I’d just arrived at the Casual Poet Library – a name likely inspired by the acclaimed movie, Dead Poets Society – where a poetry session was in full swing.
The association with the movie seemed particularly apt that night, when it felt as if the great poets of yore had come among us, inspiring an unrestrained flow of emotions and discussions.
Poetry recitals? Impassioned discussions? Aren’t libraries also supposed to be associated with… y’know… quietness?
Yes, regular libraries are. This isn’t one of those.
An outlet for shelf-expression
Many terms have been used to describe Singapore society: efficient and orderly being among the most popular. But we are coming to recognise that in building our well-organised society, we have seldom prioritised spaces where Singaporeans can express their individuality.
This is one of the things that the Casual Poet Library seeks to remedy.
Here, each shelf is rented and curated by an individual member of the community. There are no cookie-cutter formats to adhere to. The library encourages each person to make their shelf, truly their own.
Assembled with care and passion, every shelf is a window through which visitors can clearly see its curator’s personality, personal worldview, and unique tastes.
Every shelf is a new world to explore
Browsing the shelves, I noticed that each has a simple synopsis on what books are on it, and why. Each felt like an invitation to a conversation on what its curator cares about.
One shelf is delightfully designed with a miniature wooden sculpture of the entire library. It’s so detailed that I could recognise tiny copies of actual books in the library.
Slotted to one side is a life-sized guest book that visitors can write in. Many of them remarked on the almost-magical level of intricacy, and the sheer joy they got out of discovering this shelf. They loved how it reminds them of beauty and wonder amid so much bad news in the world.
On another shelf, the curator shares an intimate story about why she and her husband chose to foster, so that they can be parents to the parentless. Their shelf holds books on family and fostering, in hopes that others can learn about why this cause matters.
There are also some shelves that push the boundaries, inviting browsers to go deeper into topics like sexuality – something that still feels like a bit of a taboo in Asian cultures, even one as modern as ours.
But this is what libraries were originally intended to be: a place that exposes the limits of one’s knowledge, and with selections of books curated by the librarian, expands our boundaries.
Reflecting our community’s love for learning
We realise, however, that this library – this quirky, new, uniquely Singaporean approach to growing our understanding of the world – is an unlikely success story.
Presented with this concept, a skeptic may initially say, “Huh? A bookstore? Can it survive?” Explain that no, no, it’s a library – and they’d be even more surprised. “A library? How could that possibly make it in pragmatic Singapore?”
Yet somehow, against all odds, it has. It’s even thriving, and just renewed its lease in December 2026.
It’s a glowing testament to our residents’ efforts to improve our collective knowledge while building a deeper community spirit across generations in our town.
When Casual Poet Library founder Rebecca Toh initially started her crowdfunding programme in May 2024, she herself was unsure if such an idea would fly in Singapore. But quickly, she found many who were willing to rent and curate these shelves for 6 months to 2 years, at a cost of $43 to $45 a month (lower rentals for longer leases). Today, there’s even a wait list.
Members of the public can browse the library for free. But to borrow books, they must become members. The annual membership fee ranges from $15 to $45 – depending on how much the member wants to contribute. Regardless of fee paid, all members can borrow up to 5 books a month, for up to 1 month per book – renewable for up to 1 month.
Even more community support come from volunteers who take turns running the library in 3-hour shifts – no permanent staff needed.
A bright outlook for culture in SG?
One looks at such a thriving community initiative and dares to hope that it reflects the pent-up demand for spaces where Singaporeans can express themselves, wander, and simply be.
Sociologists call them ‘third spaces’, something that is increasingly scarce in Singapore as the costs of business operations continue to rise. But perhaps the painful loss of places like The Projector in 2025 can galvanise some of us to create and support their replacements.
This new year, let us cherish the places of culture and quirkiness around us. Let’s actively support them, not just because they need us, but because we need them to serve as reflections of what makes Singapore, truly Singaporean.
Visit The Casual Poet Library, 123 Bukit Merah Lane 1, #01-110, Singapore 150123, open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 9pm.
