Library books not interesting: Expert

SURABAYA (JP): Why do children flock to book stores but never head to a library?

Educational information expert Endang R. Soewarno lamented the poor reading habits that still largely prevail in society and blamed it on, among other things, the limited choice of books available in libraries. It's also the reason why children choose to squat in the aisle of a book store, reading, than go to libraries, she said.

"The interesting books that are available in bookstores cannot be found in a library," she told The Jakarta Post recently.

She acknowledged that most schools and universities are usually financially hard put when it comes to adding new, more interesting books to their collection.

She said the situation calls for more active teaching, which is applied in Australia and can be emulated here.

"In Australia, teachers at elementary schools hold an obligatory weekly reading session for parents and children," she said. "During these sessions, they head to bookstores and read any books available there."

Endang pointed out that, however, the kind of books available there are not very different from those in libraries.

Reading is the basis of all knowledge, Endang said.

"We can probably learn from schools in Victoria, Australia, where first graders in local elementary schools are encouraged to read a lot, and told to rewrite and retell stories once they enter third grade," she said. "The retelling is a beginning of a systematic analytical thinking process."

Endang, who lectures at the Surabaya Teachers' Training College, also blamed people's poor reading habits on the emergence of new private television stations, starting in the early 1990s.

"Television entered our country when the culture of reading had not been established yet," she said. "It's different from countries like Japan or the United States. TV boomed when people were already book lovers."

Endang said children learn to love books from their parents. "If parents love books, their children will follow suit. At least, the parents will help create a climate where literature is respected," she said.

The problem was, she pointed out, many elderly people here are not book lovers.

"Even worse, they're now lovers of television soap operas, telenovela," she said. "Watching television usually reduces the interest to read books." (27)