Book fair taps into the signs of the times

By Ahmad Junaidi

JAKARTA (JP): With seemingly no end in sight to the economic crisis, the Indonesian Publishers Association (Ikapi) has daringly held its annual book fair offering discounts of up to 50 percent.

Organized with the support of the Ford Foundation, the Indonesia Book Fair attracted hundreds of book lovers on its opening day at the Senayan sports hall in Central Jakarta on Saturday. It will be held until Sept. 20.

Newly published works are offered at a discount of between 10 percent and 20 percent, while other works are half price.

Visitors, mostly college and high school students, crowded most of the 110 stands of the 87 participating publishers.

Works on the theme of reform are the hot ticket.

One attracting a lot of attention is Pahlawan Reformasi (Reform Heroes), published by Pabelan Jayakarta, which details the lives of the four Trisakti University students who were fatally shot in the May 12 incident.

The publisher's other newly released book, Orang Hilang (Missing People) -- recounting the stories of the people allegedly abducted by officers of the Army's Special Force -- was another highlight.

According to Tina, an employee of the publisher, the books will serve as useful historical documents for both students and book collectors.

Jumping wholeheartedly on the reform bandwagon, publisher Mizan erected a sign promoting its "reform serial books" at the corner of its stand.

The publisher promoted many newly released books written by reform leaders such as Amien Rais, the former chairman of Muhammadiyah Moslem organization.

Other publishers, including Gema Insani Press and Grassindo, a subsidiary of the giant Gramedia Group, hawked a wide range of works, both on reform themes and general topics.

But the financial turmoil has prevented some of the exhibitors from publishing new books. Instead, they are banking on tried-and-true themes which still have a place in the market.

Reprinted books, especially textbooks for high schools and universities, are the most profitable venture for middle-class publishers instead of the expense required for new publications, many exhibitors said.

With the price of paper jumping almost three times since the crisis began last year, publishers have resorted to reprinting the textbooks -- on subjects including accounting, banking, and management -- since they are assured good sales in the market, a staff member of PT Rineka Cipta said.

PT Ghalia Indonesia also preferred to reprint its textbooks for schoolchildren despite a backlog of new works.

"We have many book titles on our list but the books will be printed if there is big order," a company employee said.

Children's books were difficult to find, and they were available at only six of the stands.

Ikapi's chairman Rozali Usman was proud that the association could hold the fair despite the crisis.

"The fair is aimed at helping publishers promote their books and the public to obtain cheap books," Rozali said.

The fair organizer will also hold seminars and games, he said, to attract visitors.

He also hoped the fair could maintain and enhance the public's reading habits and love of the printed word, still lacking in Indonesia.

It was a goal echoed in Kupu-kupu Dalam Buku by noted poet Taufik Ismail, which he read at the fair's opening.

Taufik envisioned a day when people would read books in bus terminals, hospital waiting rooms and railway stations, and crowd bookstores to buy works.