JP/17/NAT

JP/17/NAT

Natsuko Shioya, a quiet library with beautiful panorama

Library to commemorate the neverending love story

Though Yogyakarta boasts itself as a student's city for being a
home to dozens of universities and scholars, in fact it has more
shopping malls than good public libraries.

Now, if you want to find a library with a pleasant reading
atmosphere, come to Sumberan village in Sariharjo, Sleman.

Located about two kilometers north of Yogya Kembali Monument,
the village has a library called Natsuko Shioya, which is named
after a Japanese woman.

The library building that is dressed up in Japanese style, is
designed to create comfort to visitors. The reading room,
measuring 10x20 square meters are walled with large glass windows
so as to allow fresh air and sunrays to intrude into the
serenity.

Through the windows, visitors are invited to enjoy the visual
feast of beautiful Japanese garden, located at the west and north
sides.

Also, they can also read at the garden, which is furnished
with a gazebo to drink tea, a small pond where turtles and koi
fish racing with each others.

The restful atmosphere of Japanese garden is further enhanced
with bonsais and bamboo trees.

When you are tired of reading, you can take a glance at Mount
Merapi that is at the north of the library. Green paddy fields
added the beauty like you usually see in a postcard, only that
here you can witness the paddy sways to the right and to the left
after the winds, dancing like the waves of the ocean.

There is no room for noises, including those from the
motorized vehicles. The only sound you hear is the chirping of
sparrows, the bells of the cows that are ready to plow the paddy
fields or the bleating of herded goats passing in front of the
library.

If you wish to feed your intellectual appetite while rest your
body, you can go on a small physical exercise since there is no
public transportation stopping by this area. Moreover, the
library is located rather far from the heart of the city.

The library which has opened since August 2002 has a
collection of some 2,300 books, mostly children story books like
the Walt-Disney's. There are also novels, books of philosophy,
biography and even encyclopaedia.

It turns out that the library has many children as well as
adult as regular visitors.

There was one afternoon when six-year old Wulan and her
friends were spotted reading picture books enthusiastically.

"I am already on the first grade, I must tell stories in front
of the class," Wulan said.

On another day, two Japanese women who live in Yogyakarta came
with their children, reading books and played in the garden.

"Everyday, at least 15 children come to this library," said SP
Sedyaningsih, one of the librarians.

Natsuko Shioya is possibly the library with the most
comfortable atmosphere in Yogyakarta. To be frank, most libraries
in the city are always noisy, dusty and "shabby", and the
buildings are not equipped with convenient and comfortable
facilities.

Anyone may come to Natsuko Shioya and you do not have to pay
for reading the books or browsing the magazines in the library.

However, if you want to borrow to finish your book at home,
you should become a member. The membership fee is Rp 50,000
(US$6) for children under 15 years old and R 100,000 for adults.
They can borrow the books for a week duration.

But who is Natsuko Shioya?

Natsuko was a Japanese tourist who regularly visited
Indonesia.

In 1996, she visited Sosrowijayan international kampong in
Yogyakarta where she met Glen Goulds, a tourist from Australia.
They fell in love at the first sight and travelled together
around Yogyakarta and also Bali.

"Natsuko enjoyed visiting temples," said Goulds, who now lives
in Yogyakarta.

However, the love story has a sad ending.

In August 1997, Natsuko died tragically when a heavy machine
who was operated to make building foundation fell down and
crashed her house at Saporo, Hokkaido. She was 23.

"I am broken hearted," Goulds said. "She was very kind; she
never got angry and modest."

Goulds, 44, works as the quality control consultant of CV
Satria Grafika in Yogyakarta. It was his company that built the
library while the concept and the idea were from Goulds.

"All the beauty in the library is the reflection of Natsuko,"
said the man whose favorite books include The Prophet by Khalil
Gibran.

But the library also has a more stimulating function.

Here, visitors are expected to make use of the library as a
place to search their true self through meditation, which can be
done in the gazebo located at the back of the library.

A dedicated bookworm, Goulds reads not only newspapers, but
also three books and three magazines in a week. His favorite
activity also inspired him to build a library.

"Besides, I remembered the suggestion of (musician) Sawung
Jabo when I asked him what I could contribute to the little
people. He suggested that I make a library to help grow the
reading culture among the nation," he said.

Most of the collections are children books because Goulds
believed that the reading habit should be nurtured at the early
age.

Goulds' vision seems to have been materialized. Even though
the library does not have many members, it has encourage the
people to regularly visit the library and read books.

The library has started to "shine" beautifully like the smile
of Natsuko, which, according to Goulds, was as beautiful as the
sunshine. -- Bambang M.

Yogyakarta is popular as a student's city and a cultural city. It
has dozens of universities with a huge number of students and
many scholars also have opted to live here.

Ironically, Yogyakarta has more glamorous shopping malls than
good public libraries.