Blog 6

Singapore Botanical Gardens Botanical Library.
After much searching,trying to find a different region of the world with a significant botanical library,I located one at Singapore,and have decided to add some information about the history of the gardens,which i feel is relevant to the establishment of the library and herbarium.

In 1822 Sir Stamford Raffles established the first version of the Botanical gardens,as a kind of experimental area to see what kind of useful crops could be grown,but unfortunately the gardens closed after just 7 years due to lack of finances,and the untimely early death of Raffles.

The gardens lay dormant then for about 30 years,where they reopened as a leisure garden and an ornamental park,around this time,and hosted flower shows,

In 1874,the gardens management was handed over to the government,who brought in Botanists and Horticulturists from Kew Gardens in London to upgrade and facilitate new plantings and designs,also about this time the Library and Herbarium were established,initially with books owned by Raffles,who had been a keen botanist.

The first garden director was Henry Ridley,who foresaw the potential of rubber trees and had 22 planted as an experiment,by 1917 the gardens had produced approx 7 million seeds he also discovered ways to tap the trees without damaging them which opened up possibilities for the growth of rubber tree plantations in Malaya (Malaysia) as early as 1910 rubber was then produced commercially, this generated much wealth which Ridley then used to extend and improve the garden and it's facilities.
In 1988 Dr Tan Wee Kiat,the gardens director, began a program to upgrade the botanical and horticultural research facilities,and to modernise the library adding over a period of time a leisure reading room,with botanical magazines available to peruse I have included an article by Dr Tan Wee Kiat outlining some of the future plans for the libary and gardens

Display within Library

Singapore  Botanical Library

The Story of Rubber,Singapore:Ridley's Rubber Farm 2000,Polymer Science Learning Centre & The Chemical Heritage Foundation,viewed 17th May2012,<http://www.psic.ws/macrog/exp/rubber/bepisode/malay.htm.>.


Samson So 生態協會 Eco Institute 2007,Botany Library inside Singapore Botanical Library[image]in Samson So's photostream,Flickr viewed 17th May2012,<http://www.flickr.com/photos/samsonos_photography/1434378330/>.


Singapore Botanical Gardens 2007,Library of Botany&Horticulture,viewed 18th May2012,<http://www.sbg.org/research/herbariumlibrary1.asp>.


Kiat,Tan Wee 1999,Keeping Botanical Gardens relevant:The Singapore Botanical gardens experience viewed 18th May2012,<http://www.bgci.org/worldwide/article/121>.