The Singapore National Library Board’s (NLB) very first manga library has opened its doors and it’s packed with over 5,000 titles to satisfy the cravings of Singapore otakus. Located at City Square Mall, this pop-up library doubles as the NLB’s first-ever Grab-n-Go manga library, making borrowing books a breeze. Patrons merely need to scan their national identification cards to enter the space, pick out the book you want and head over to the exit to check out your reads. Digital copies from the eManga collection are also available for borrowing via the NLB app.

The manga collection features popular titles like Dragon Ball Z, Spy x Family, Beyblade Burst, and Fairy Tail, as well as heritage titles from Singapore’s own comic culture like Captain V (Singapore’s first full-color comic), Medium Rare (Singapore’s first comic adaptation of a film), and Bookworm Gang Adventures.

There’s even a robot concierge called Mr Kiasu, the beloved character from the popular local comic series in the 90s. Mr Kiasu is programmed with an AI-generated voice and is super friendly and helpful. He can recommend books and provide simple instructions on using Grab-n-Go, so patrons don’t have to be afraid to ask for his help!

The manga library pop-up is open daily from 10am to 10pm at City Square Mall level 4, but it’s only around for six months, so make sure to check it out before it’s gone!