Jakarta book fair gains momentum

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.