Jakarta Library strengthens position as inclusive public space

The Jakarta Library continues to strengthen its position as an inclusive public space for the community, reflected in the high public interest in the Night at the Library event held to celebrate its fourth anniversary at the Taman Ismail Marzuki Library in Central Jakarta on Friday evening. “The literacy ecosystem in Jakarta is growing. Libraries are no longer just places to read, but also spaces to gather, discuss, create, and build social networks,” said Nasruddin Djoko Surjono, Head of the DKI Jakarta Library and Archives Service. He expressed hope that the Jakarta Library would become a service innovation that presents the library as a ‘third place’ for the people of Jakarta. He noted that the library’s fourth anniversary on 7 July 2026 coincided with the launch of the Jakarta Library at the Martha Christina Tiahahu Literacy Park, Nyi Ageng Serang, which was inaugurated by DKI Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung. Nasruddin assessed that the presence of this new library has received an extraordinary response from the public, with the Nyi Ageng Serang branch attracting around 1,000 visitors daily. “This is a remarkable achievement and shows that the reading interest of Jakarta’s community continues to increase,” he said. He added that this was also evident in the Night at the Library event, where the entire quota of 800 participants was fully booked moments after registration opened. Data from the DKI Jakarta Library and Archives Service recorded that during the first semester of 2026, the Jakarta Library received 320,352 visits, averaging around 13,000 visitors per week. Since reopening until reaching its fourth year, total visits have reached approximately 1.96 million people. “This figure shows that the library is increasingly accepted as a lively public space, a place for people to learn, discuss, create, and build networks,” he said. He added that strengthening literacy culture is an important part of preparing for the 500th anniversary of the City of Jakarta. According to him, city development does not only focus on physical infrastructure but also on improving the quality of human resources through open and inclusive literacy spaces. Meanwhile, Diki Lukman Hakim, Head of the Jakarta Library and H.B. Jassin Literary Document Centre Management Unit, said the transformation of library services aims to strengthen its role as a comfortable third place for the community. “We hope this service transformation will solidify the Jakarta Library’s role as a third place for inclusive, comfortable, and lively social interaction outside the home and workplace,” he said. Ali Maulana Hakim, Assistant for People’s Welfare at the DKI Jakarta Regional Secretariat, appreciated the ongoing service innovations by the DKI Library and Archives Service. According to him, libraries have now transformed into public spaces open to all levels of society for learning, discussion, and developing creativity. He added that literacy is no longer defined solely as the ability to read and write, but also the ability to understand information, develop skills, and build competitiveness. “We hope that programmes like Night at the Library will continue to be held so that the Jakarta Library increasingly becomes a centre for literacy, creativity, human resource development, and a collaborative space that strengthens social interaction among the people of Jakarta,” he said.