Officially opened on 22 January 1845, the first public library in Singapore was known by many names. It was initially known as the Singapore Library before it was changed to the Raffles Library and Museum when a museum was added to it. In the 1950s, the first fully qualified librarian, L.M. Harrod was appointed as the Director of Raffles Library where he was instrumental in separating the library and the museum. He introduced the Browne issue system of book charging which continued to be in use until 1988 when it was replaced by a computerised library system. The Raffles Library was renamed the National Library and moved to a new building in Stamford Road which was officially opened in 1960 by the Yang di-Pertuan Negara, Yusof Ishak.
