Jakarta book fair gains momentum
By Irawati Wisnumurti
JAKARTA (JP): Children in colorful ethnic outfits crowded the entrance to the annual Jakarta Book Fair at the Senayan sports hall, all anxiously awaiting their turn to appear in a dance competition being held by the fair's organizing committee.
Sponsored by the Indonesian Publishers Association (Ikapi), the competition was only one among a number of events held concurrently in the hope of luring more visitors to the fair.
So far, the efforts seem to be working, judging by the many children of all ages threading their way through the book-filled hallways.
Contrary to many previous reports that the June 14 to June 22 book fair lacked visitors, crowds of cheerful and eager people flocked around the piles of books, with discount signs screaming "cheap books". They stuffed newly purchased books and magazines into bags and knapsacks.
A broadcaster at RRI, the state radio station, Awanda Erna, said: "I rarely go to the book fairs held by Ikapi because usually they do not offer a complete selection of books."
"This time, I decided to go because this year's fair offers many books at reduced prices and the fair coincides with schoolchildren having just finished their final exams and beginning their vacations," she told The Jakarta Post.
Awanda is the proud parent of Riri, who won second place in a poetry reading competition held at the Literary Center of the Ministry of Education and Culture stand.
"The fair this year is better and more lively, with many events taking place," Awanda said.
Indeed, the Book Fair's organizing committee has planned many creative events for people of all ages, including drawing and coloring competitions, book-cover designing competitions, dance competitions for children, various games, quizzes and writing competitions, as well as interesting seminars on topics ranging from copyright issues to youths interested in reading, and the mass media's and advertising agencies' roles in promoting it.
With Reading is Fun as this year's theme, the committee is eager to attract more crowds to the fair.
A staff member in the promotion division and stand coordinator for PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama, B. Sugiharto, said: "This year is busier, I think, because of the discounts. For example, we have discounts of up to 80 percent on selected books."
"Children have just finished their exams and many come with their families, or their schools organize trips to the fair," Sugiharto said. "The organizing committee even provides transportation. In the first two days alone, we reached the level of profits we made last year."
Within the same compound, the Ekspo Kampus Fair was held from June 14 to June 17, closing five days before the book fair. It consisted of stands from various schools offering crash courses for the national standardized exams for college entry, as well as schools offering courses in computer skills and other practical fields.
The book fair also has an ethnic art shop called Rama Shinta, which sells attractive and unique arts and craft pieces from all over Indonesia. Situated in among the book stands, it pulls in many visitors.
"There is definitely a rising interest in reading among children of all ages," Sugiharto said.
"For example, a high demand for Goosebumps books for children has resulted in a Goosebumps Fan Club.
"And even the children's magazine Bobo now has a section for a children's book review. For adults as well, there is a rise in interest. Mostly for nonfiction books on practical knowledge, health and personal growth."
PT Pustaka Utama Grafiti's marketing executive, Tunjung Linggarwati, who is in charge of the stand, said children's interest in reading is evident in the way they often spend hours poring over the colorful pages of books at the stand.
"Usually, they do not come to buy, unless they come with their families on weekends. They'll sit and read one book together. Besides, the books are thin enough for them to have finished reading without having to purchase the books."
Amalia, a 17-year-old student, said she comes to the fair every year. "There are many good bargains and I love to read, especially novels for young adults," she said.
A small bespectacled boy named Ken, a fourth-grader, was poring over some colorful jigsaw puzzles on display for children in one of the stands.
When asked what books he likes to read, his face lit up as he said enthusiastically, "Comics!" Ken had come alone with a driver.
A junior high school student, Yuli, declared her passion for the Goosebumps series, which she called "exciting and scary".
She said that she and her friends usually spend time looking around before deciding which books to buy and then only when she knows she really wants it, and at a bargain price.
Many of the children's books range from Rp 500 (20 U.S cents) to as high as Rp 17,000, with most being rather expensive if a child is given a limited allowance.
It is not surprising, therefore, that children prefer to read on the spot, without purchasing books.
Release
Sugiharto said that while children's interest in reading is on the rise, the actual number of new children's books released this month at PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama is only 10 and there is a clear reduction of new children's books being released this year.
"This is not good, " he said.
This trend seems to indicate that while interest in books is on the rise, the price of children's books, without the discounts, is still felt to be high.
Also, most of the books popular among children are translations. There are no, or very few, local authors who write children's books that have the same popularity as Enid Blyton, Judy Blume or Roald Dahl.
The crowds at the fair indicate a positive trend and the committee's efforts to attract children and adults is to be applauded.
Children's interest in reading is evident but the task is a large one, since it involves schools, families, publishers and writers to promote reading and create new local heroes and heroines, which the children would eagerly read about, like Batman, the characters from Goosebumps, or the Famous Five and the Hardy Boys.