JP/19/PERPUS

JP/19/PERPUS

'Smart Library' is ex-minister's long-held dream

Wahyoe Boediwardhana
The Jakarta Post/Malang, East Java

After retiring as a state official, Malik Fadjar, former
religious affairs minister during President BJ Habibie's
administration and former education minister during the
administration of President Megawati Soekarnoputri, is realizing
his long-cherished dream of owning a good library.

On Oct.22, his dream came true with the opening of his
library, called Rumah Buku Cerdas (Smart Library or RBC). You can
find in this library Malik Fadjar's own collection and books
donated by a number of parties.

Designed as a one-stop library, RBC has a collection of some
500 titles as well as a number of journals and several bundles of
magazines like Tempo, Panji Masyarakat and Horison. The library
is also provided with a Wi-Fi Internet hotspot facility.

"Anybody wishing to read the books in this library can also go
browsing on the Internet here," said Nazaruddin Malik Fadjar, the
son of Malik Fadjar given responsibility for technical matters at
the RBC.

To make a visitor feel at home in this library, the entrance
is free and a coffee shop is provided in one corner. The building
is located in a two-story house in Permata Jingga Estate, Jl.
Puncak Borobudur, Kav. 12 to 13, Malang.

"I have just been told by our friends from Mizan publisher
that they will donate books and they also plan to open their own
counter in RBC," said Malik Fadjar when interviewed after
inaugurating his library.

On the first floor of the library are held bundles of
magazines and journals on political, cultural, social and
religious affairs. Apart from its interior decoration, which
gives visitors a feeling of relaxation, the library also has its
own coffee shop and bakery.

Meanwhile, the second floor is designed in a more serious
manner as it keeps neatly arranged collections of rare books,
such as the address that president Sukarno made in 1954 on the
nation and the Islamic state.

Most of the books kept in this air-conditioned library come
from Malik Fadjar's private collection, which dates from the
1950s.

"I have obtained most of the books from book hunting in
various cities and at Pasar Senen, Jakarta. I hope the library
will open up new avenues for readers in addition to those that
already exist in the community," he said.

Malik denied the allegation that the library was aimed at
providing references for those in search of materials or data for
studying particular disciplines. In fact, he noted, RBC had been
set up so that it can establish a synergy with other libraries.

"Today, there are a lot of places for such references. This
library has been set up so that it can establish a synergy with
other libraries," he stressed.

The opening of the library was held jointly with a breaking
-of-the-fast dinner, followed later by a joint Ramadhan evening
prayer and a Nuzulul Qur'an dialog.

Present at the ceremony marking the inauguration of RBC were
rector of Muhammadiyah University in Malang Drs Muhadjir Effendi,
director general of tertiary education Soemantri Brodjonegoro and
rector of Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University in Jakarta
Azyumardi Azra.