1001 Books Community aims to better reading habits

Singgir Kartana, Contributor, Yogyakarta

Hundreds of children thronged a spot on the side of a street in Gadjah Mada University campus one Sunday morning earlier this month.

They looked happy. Some were browsing through books spread out on the sidewalk, while others were reading or playing. A few teenagers and adults were also seen among the crowd.

Welcome to the Sidewalk Library.

The weekly event, held for the first time in March, was organized by a reading community called 1001 Books Community. Children and teenagers who join the program can read books and magazines or just have fun, playing and singing together. It's all free.

"We also hold similar activities in the community libraries throughout Yogyakarta," Agus Sutoko from the reading community explained.

The reading community was established in Jakarta three years ago, while the Yogyakarta chapter was set up on Feb. 16 on Jl. Panjaitan 85. The one in Yogyakarta was set up by 30 people, including some volunteers who used to work for the reading community in Jakarta.

Members of the reading community are mostly university students, who care about the efforts to encourage children and teenagers to read books.

Its coordinator, Fretty Panggabean, said they were concerned about the limited access that low-income people had to information, especially books. They believe that one of the reasons why people rarely read books is the high price of books. Therefore they make efforts to encourage people to read by providing them with free books and magazines.

"They don't have the habit of reading, not because they don't want to read, but because they cannot afford to buy books," Fretty said.

Therefore, each member of the 1001 Book Community is committed to collect books and magazines -- old or new -- from people. They ask people to contribute the reading materials through radio and newspapers. The result is not bad. In a month, they can collect about 1,000 books.

The books are distributed to the community libraries under the "drop and roll" system. Each library may borrow 100 books, which should be returned after three months. After returning the books, they will get another 100 books. Libraries which are entitled to get the books are non-profit ones that are not under the umbrella of any institution.

The reading community has distributed the books five times to a number of community libraries, including Catura in Kotagede, Sanggar Anak Cakrawala in Gedongkiwo, Anak Wayang on Jl. Tamansiswa, Rajin Baca in Gambiran, Ujung Bawuk in Jatimulyo.

Fretty hoped that by the end of the year, the reading community could drop books in 10 community libraries.

Currently, there are at least 1,500 newly collected books ready to be distributed.

"The library is now full with children because there are now many choices, not just the same old books," said Sudarinah, a resident of Kotagede who lives not far from Catura library.

The number of people that can be reached by the 1001 Books Community is still small compared to the number of those who need it. However, those young people in the reading community certainly deserve congratulations for their remarkable work.