nlb-singapore

name	nlb-singapore
description	Search the National Library Board (NLB) Singapore catalog for books, audiovisual materials, and digital resources via the official Catalogue API. Use this skill whenever the user wants to search Singapore's national library holdings, check book availability across NLB branches, look up titles by ISBN/BRN, find new arrivals, browse checkout trends, or retrieve detailed bibliographic records from NLB. Triggers when referencing Singapore library collections, Southeast Asian library holdings, or NLB resources.
version	1.0.0

NLB Singapore Catalogue API Skill

Search and retrieve bibliographic records from Singapore's National Library Board catalog.

Critical: Things Claude Won't Know Without This Skill

API key is required — two headers on every request

The NLB API requires both an API key and an app code:

X-API-KEY: your-api-key
X-APP-Code: your-app-code

Without these, all endpoints return 401. Apply for free keys at https://go.gov.sg/nlblabs-form (contact: [e-mail]).

Set environment variables NLB_API_KEY and NLB_APP_CODE, or pass them to the Python client constructor.

Two search endpoints with different strengths

Endpoint	Best for	Returns
SearchTitles	Keyword search with facets and filters	Title summaries + facets
GetTitles	Field-specific search (title, author, subject, ISBN)	Full title records

SearchTitles: ?Keywords=singapore+history&Limit=10
GetTitles:    ?Title=singapore&Author=lee&Limit=10

BRN is the primary record identifier

BRN (Bibliographic Record Number) is NLB's internal ID. Use it for GetTitleDetails and GetAvailabilityInfo lookups. Found in search results under records[].brn or brn.

Native language fields for CJK content

Most text fields have native-language variants: title/nativeTitle, author/nativeAuthor, seriesTitle/nativeSeriesTitle. Always check both for Chinese, Malay, and Tamil titles.

Endpoints

Endpoint	Purpose
GET /SearchTitles	Keyword search with facets and filters
GET /GetTitles	Field-specific search (title, author, subject, ISBN)
GET /GetTitleDetails	Full record by BRN or ISBN
GET /GetAvailabilityInfo	Check availability across branches
GET /GetNewTitles	Browse new arrivals
GET /GetMostCheckoutsTrendsTitles	Checkout trends by branch

Key Search Parameters

SearchTitles

Param	Description	Example
Keywords	Search keywords (required)	Keywords=singapore+history
Limit	Results per page (default 20, max 100)	Limit=20
Offset	Pagination offset	Offset=20
MaterialTypes	Filter by material type	MaterialTypes=BOOK
Languages	Filter by language	Languages=Chinese
Locations	Filter by library branch	Locations=TRL
DateFrom / DateTo	Publication year range	DateFrom=2020&DateTo=2025
Availability	Only available items	Availability=true
Fiction	Fiction filter	Fiction=true

GetTitles

Param	Description
Keywords	General keywords
Title	Title-specific search
Author	Author-specific search
Subject	Subject-specific search
ISBN	ISBN lookup
Limit / Offset	Pagination

Response Structure

Search Results

{
  "totalRecords": 999,
  "count": 20,
  "hasMoreRecords": true,
  "nextRecordsOffset": 20,
  "titles": [
    {
      "title": "Singapore: A Biography",
      "nativeTitle": "",
      "author": "Frost, Mark Ravinder",
      "nativeAuthor": "",
      "records": [
        {
          "brn": 13737742,
          "isbns": ["9789814385169"],
          "publisher": ["Editions Didier Millet"],
          "publishDate": "2009",
          "subjects": ["Singapore -- History"],
          "format": {"code": "BK", "name": "Books"}
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "facets": [...]
}

Title Detail Fields

Full records include 50+ fields: brn, title, nativeTitle, author, nativeAuthor, publisher, publishDate, isbns, subjects, summary, contents, edition, physicalDescription, language, format, allowReservation, availability, activeReservationsCount.

Availability Info

{
  "items": [
    {
      "brn": 13737742,
      "callNumber": "959.57 FRO",
      "location": {"code": "TRL", "name": "Lee Kong Chian Reference Library"},
      "transactionStatus": {"code": "S", "name": "Available on Shelf"},
      "media": {"code": "BOOK", "name": "Book"}
    }
  ]
}

Transaction status codes: S (on shelf), L (on loan), H (on hold), I (in transit), T (transferred).

Python Script

from scripts.nlb_api import NlbAPI
nlb = NlbAPI()  # reads NLB_API_KEY and NLB_APP_CODE from env

# Keyword search
results = nlb.search("singapore history", limit=10)

# Field-specific search
results = nlb.get_titles(title="dream of the red chamber", language="Chinese")

# Title details by BRN
detail = nlb.get_title_details(brn=13737742)

# Check availability
avail = nlb.get_availability(brn=13737742)
for item in avail:
    print(f"{item['location']['name']}: {item['transactionStatus']['name']}")

# New arrivals
new = nlb.get_new_titles(date_range="Weekly", limit=20)

# Summarize
for r in results:
    print(nlb.summarize(r))

Library Branch Codes

Key locations: TRL (Lee Kong Chian Reference Library), WRL (Woodlands Regional Library), CMPL (Chinatown Public Library), AMKPL (Ang Mo Kio), BIPL (Bishan), JWPL (Jurong West), TPPL (Tampines).

API Etiquette

• Free API key required (apply at https://go.gov.sg/nlblabs-form)
• Rate limits enforced (429 on excess) — exact thresholds undocumented
• Data licensed under Singapore Open Data Licence

Related Skills

• hathitrust-catalog: Use ISBNs from NLB to check HathiTrust for digitized versions
• wikidata-search: Cross-reference NLB subjects with Wikidata entities

Resources

• references/api_reference.md — Complete endpoint, parameter, and response field reference
• scripts/nlb_api.py — Python client with search, lookup, availability checking, and pagination