The golden days of publishing are over<\/p>\n
Ignatius Haryanto, Contributor\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Now that the end of 2004 is approaching, we shall experience
\n\"business as usual\" in the Indonesian book industry.<\/p>\n
One important thing to address is the ending of financial
\nsupport from the Ford Foundation, via the Adikarya Foundation,
\nwhich has been a significant source of support for Indonesian
\nbook publishing since 1998.<\/p>\n
Adikarya is a foundation set up by IKAPI (the Indonesian
\nPublishers Association) to manage funding from the Ford
\nFoundation, an international philanthropic organization that is
\npart of the Ford Motor Company.<\/p>\n
The foundation has long been involved in several fields,
\nincluding reproductive health, environmental protection, good
\ngovernance and support for the traditional arts.<\/p>\n
Support for quality books<\/p>\n
Concern for the future of book publishing in Indonesia was
\nraised at the time of the economic crisis in 1997, when the
\nrupiah depreciated against the U.S. dollar and suddenly
\neverything became very expensive.<\/p>\n
The Ford Foundation was worried that the economic crisis would
\ndeny Indonesian readers access to quality books. The foundation
\nstarted its program by supporting quality titles -- chosen by a
\npanel -- and covered 80 percent of their printing cost.<\/p>\n
Over the last six years, the foundation has supported 568
\ntitles, according to data released by Ewa Pandjaitan, secretary
\nto the Adikarya Foundation.<\/p>\n
\"In 2004 alone, 121 titles received financial support from the
\nfoundation.\"<\/p>\n
Simple arithmetic shows that each year roughly 80 titles
\nenjoyed this support. This is quite significant compared with the
\napproximately 400 titles produced by the Indonesian book industry
\nat present.<\/p>\n
The 400 titles is a rough calculation, as there is no reliable
\ndata that shows growth in the Indonesian book industry. No one
\nhas the figures -- even IKAPI appears not to care about keeping
\ntrack of industry growth, and has allowed it to be calculated by
\neach publishing company on its own.<\/p>\n
How will publishers continue without support?<\/p>\n
Ford decided that its support program had protected publishers
\nfrom the worst impacts of the economic crisis.<\/p>\n
\"It's time for us to move on, not by supporting programs
\nrelated to book production per se, but probably by looking at
\ndifferent aspects of the industry, such as marketing and
\ndistribution, both within and outside Java,\" said foundation
\nprogram officer Philip Yampolsky.<\/p>\n
Now that the era of subsidization will soon be over, what will
\nhappen to the book publishers that enjoyed funding for the last
\nsix years?<\/p>\n
Will it be business as usual or has it already created a
\ndependency in some instances?<\/p>\n
Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia (KPG) executive manager Pax
\nBenedanto claims that his publishing company will not be affected
\nby the ending of the Ford Foundation's support via the Adikarya
\nFoundation. Since the start of this program, KPG has received
\nsupport for dozens of its book titles, and this year KPG received
\nsupport for only two book titles from a total of 25 to 30 titles.<\/p>\n
Although the absence of Ford Foundation support next year is
\nnot so significant for his publishing company, Pax admits that
\nthe program has been very helpful in supporting quality books
\nwith a highly specific market niche.<\/p>\n
He uses as an example the complete works of Abdullah bin Abdul
\nKadir Munsyi, a prominent Melayu poet, best known for his
\nmasterpiece Gurindam Duabelas (Poetry in 12 paragraphs), which
\nrecently reached his desk for review.<\/p>\n
\"I appreciate that publishing such a book needs some financial
\nsupport as sales income alone would not cover the costs.\"<\/p>\n
Cross-subsidization can work<\/p>\n
Benedanto emphasizes the need for an alternative source of
\nfinancial support for \"idealistic\" books.<\/p>\n
Julius, executive director of Galang Press in Yogyakarta,
\nshares Pax's view, adding that the absence of Ford support will
\nnot really effect his business.<\/p>\n
From 2000 to 2004, Galang received support for eight titles.<\/p>\n
\"From eight titles, two books sold well on the market -- one a
\nbook about the gay community, written by gay rights campaigner
\nDede Oetomo, a sociologist from Airlangga University in Surabaya,
\nthe other about Levi Strauss' concept of structural
\nanthropology.\"<\/p>\n
Galang became well-known for the controversial book Jakarta
\nUndercover, a compilation of stories on the sex theme, written by
\nentertainment journalist Moamar Emka, who explored sex sites in
\nthe capital.<\/p>\n
Since then, Galang has tended to produce similar types of
\nbooks, claiming that they sell well and can cross-subsidize
\nother, more \"idealistic\" books.<\/p>\n
\"After 2002, we changed our strategy for selling books and put
\n70 percent of our effort toward best-sellers, with the other 30
\npercent dedicated to high-quality books.<\/p>\n
\"Without this strategy, Galang could not survive in the book
\nbusiness,\" Julius continued.<\/p>\n
As a publisher in Yogyakarta, a city that is home to dozens of
\npublishers, Julius said that some publishers were dependent for
\ntheir income upon Ford Foundation financial support.<\/p>\n
The situation has given rise to some unethical behavior,
\nincluding the cheating of authors and misreporting the number of
\ncopies printed, so that publishers can make more money.<\/p>\n
\"In the short term, it will produce a financial benefit for
\nsome publishers, but in the long run these practices will be
\nexposed, and they will lose out.\"<\/p>\n
Although the support will come to an end, Julius suggested
\nthat the Ford Foundation would still support Indonesian
\npublishers in a different way, such as providing assistance for
\nbook marketing and distribution.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that, some months ago, the Ford Foundation
\ninvited publishers in Jakarta and Yogyakarta to discuss options
\nfor the future.<\/p>\n
There is still much to be done, though, by publishers, such as
\nproperly targeted marketing and distribution and making the right
\nstrategic business decisions.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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