New law: More libraries, more books

National News - October 03, 2007

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The House of Representatives endorsed a bill Tuesday mandating the government build more libraries in remote areas to improve the country's literacy rate.

Under the new law, the central government and regional administrations are responsible for funding mobile libraries in remote villages across the country.
More "friendly" libraries are to be built in public spaces such as malls, hospitals, terminals, airports and offices.

The government will also supply quality books to urban-based libraries.
Indonesia's first-ever Library Law stipulates all schools, including universities, must equip their premises with libraries and updated book collections.

National Education Minister Bambang Sudibyo said all schools including madrassa were required to set up libraries that supply textbooks to students.

"Each school must allocate 5 percent of their library budget to improve infrastructure and to add reading books," he told reporters, after endorsing the bill.

Legislator Aan Rohanah, of the People's Justice Party (PKS), said only 7 percent of Indonesia's 200 million people have access to libraries.

"Building libraries is part of the big challenge to educate people," Aan told the plenary session.
Spokesman for the National Library, Iman Nurhadi, said the Library Law would help accelerate improvements to libraries nationwide.

"About 90 percent of libraries in this country are substandard due to poor facilities and minimal collections," Iman told The Jakarta Post.

Local governments have not paid serious attention to building libraries because there were no laws regulating funding, he said.

The 54-article law requires the government provide incentives to anyone holding old documents aged more than 50 years. The documents must be submitted to the National Library at Jl. Salemba Raya No. 28A, Central Jakarta.

Printed material such as newspapers, bulletins and magazines that pose a threat to order and security must be submitted to the National Library for restricted research access only, under the new law.

The National Library has recently launched a mobile e-library program with 150 mobile libraries, each equipped with laptops and internet connections.

The National Library collection currently contains approximately 1 million titles.

Sumber: The JakartaPost.com; 3 Oktober 2007