Old and rare books in high demand at library expo
Old and rare books in high demand at library expo
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The busiest stand so far at the 2003 Jakarta Library and Book
Expo at the Jakarta Convention Center has proven to be one
selling old and rare books.
"I have sold over 100 books today," the stand owner,
Syamsuddin Efendi Siregar, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday,
three hours after the five-day expo was opened at 10 a.m.
Employees of the Jakarta Public Library even approached
Syamsuddin to buy a Dutch-language book on foremen in Batavia in
the 1670s.
The yellowish paperback, titled Dagh-Register gehouden int
Castel Batavia, cost Rp 600,000 (about US$73).
Many other books in various languages can be found at
Syamsuddin's stand, including an English version of Koran.
One visitor, Dudi, was looking for Indonesian fiction from the
1960s, such as Gundala Putra Petir, while architect Widiastomo
was trying to find a book on traditional architecture.
"This is the place if you're looking for books no longer sold
in stores or that never reached bookstores. You can even find
banned books," Syamsuddin said.
The expo, which was held for the first time last year, is part
of the festivities for the 476th anniversary of Jakarta. Open
from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day until Sunday, it features more
than 70 book publishers and distributors.
The event, organized by the Jakarta Public Library, is costing
Rp 2.5 billion to hold, with half of that being covered by the
city administration.
"People have the right to criticize the high budget for the
event, but we need it to establish a reading culture among
Jakartans and to educate people about the function of the
library," Rachman Hermawan, head of the Jakarta Public Library,
told the Post.
The chairman of the expo's organizing committee, Abdullah,
said the event also was aimed at measuring the reading habits and
interests of Jakartans, to help the library find suitable reading
and learning materials for them.
Hermawan said the library had been trying for years to bring
residents closer to the library, including providing 15 mobile
libraries to reach remote areas in the five mayoralties.
At least 10 additional mobile libraries will begin operating
within the next two years, he added.
However, he said, a change of paradigm was also needed to
bring more visitors to the library, which many people still
perceive as dull and unfriendly.
"With fewer and fewer playgrounds and parks for students and
other people to hang out, we are trying to create a library where
everybody wants to go. Moreover, not everyone can afford to buy
books, and at the library they can read for free," Hermawan said.