Wardiman opens huge book fair<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The International Book Fair 1996, which brings
\ntogether 93 publishers from Indonesia and abroad, was officially
\nopened by Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
Taking place at the Senayan Sport's complex, the 16th book
\nfair, which will last until Sunday, features a wide variety of
\nbooks for children, youths and adults.<\/p>\n
Foreign participants at the book fair includes Brunei,
\nEngland, France, Iran, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and
\nVietnam.<\/p>\n
The event, which is expected to attract 10,000 visitors every
\nday, will also feature seminars.<\/p>\n
In his speech, Wardiman expressed concern over the lack of
\ninterest in reading among Indonesians.<\/p>\n
\"We can't say that we're proud of our book industry,\" Wardiman
\nsaid. \"A characteristic of an advanced society is they love
\nreading, but here...the condition saddens me,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that the country's book production is very low.
\n\"The number of books published here are not comparable to the
\ncountry's population,\" Wardiman said.<\/p>\n
In 1995, only 5,000 book titles were published, he said.<\/p>\n
Neighboring countries, such as Malaysia, Singapore and
\nThailand, produce a lot more books than Indonesia, he said.
\nMoreover, advanced countries, such as Britain, Japan and Korea,
\nproduce about 40,000 titles every year, he said.<\/p>\n
According to the 1994 official data, 87 percent of Indonesians
\nabove 10 years of age, or 130 million people, are literate. \"It
\nmeans that 130 million people need books. But, despite their good
\nincome, they still don't buy books,\" Wardiman said.<\/p>\n
People's buying power has not improved their interest in
\nbooks, he said.<\/p>\n
\"Instead, people love buying music cassettes,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In 1995, about 95 million cassettes were sold, each costing
\nbetween Rp 6,500 (US$2.70) and Rp 12,000. During the same period,
\nonly 30,000 copies of books were sold, Wardiman said.<\/p>\n
He urged the Indonesian Publishers Association to help improve
\npeople's reading interest instead of continuously demanding lower
\ntaxes on books. (ste)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/wardiman-opens-huge-book-fair-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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