Online library makes bookworms of people
Online library makes bookworms of people
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesians can now have greater access to books without having
to go to a library. The lack of time and other difficulties
should no longer be reasons for doing some library browsing.
Four non-governmental organizations (NGOs) jointly launched
here on Thursday a library website through which people can
search for a large variety of books. It even offers a "delivery
service" for books they decide to check out.
"By a single click on our website, people can search for any
kind of book that they want. They should not necessarily come
here and there to look for books as they can order them via e-
mail and we will deliver them," a librarian said, referring the
website: www.pustakabersama.net.
The delivery service is free of charge, unless visitors want
to copy the ordered books.
The four NGOs involved are the Center for Strategic and
International Studies (CSIS), the Utan Kayu Community in East
Jakarta, the Aksara Foundation and the Freedom Institute.
Besides introducing the online library aimed at helping people
get easier access to information, they also are using a joint
catalog system, so the "virtual library" has thousands of titles.
The NGOs said they had requested the Jakarta administration's
participation in supporting and promoting the online library by
providing one of its historic buildings as a "base-camp" for
people to directly visit.
The building could be either the former immigration office or
former National Library, which are both located in the Medan
Merdeka area in Central Jakarta, they added.
A co-founder of the Aksara Foundation, Hassan Kartadjoemena,
explained that the project was aimed at developing and promoting
an online system connecting libraries.
"Libraries should not be hidden. They have to be accessible.
Many libraries in this country are just not visited by the
people, so we have to be proactive now. Such an online system is
very popular in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.
So, let's begin the system in Indonesia," Hassan told The Jakarta
Post on the sidelines of the launching ceremony.
"We set up this library after learning that our country has so
far neglected the whole of its cultural assets, archeological
sciences and architectural buildings," he added.
The Freedom Institute, which set up the library as a research
center in late 2001, has around 10,000 book titles and 60 titles
on major periodicals. Many books on Islam are also available
there.
The 33-year-old CSIS Library has meanwhile more than 30,000
titles of books and papers, 316 titles of foreign and local
periodicals and journals as well as hundreds of thousands of news
clippings.
The Aksara Library was set up in 1998 and now has 4,897 titles
of books, with its main collections highlighting issues on
corruption, military, bureaucracy and democracy.
The Utan Kayu Library, which was set up in 1996, has around
3,656 books on philosophy, the arts and mass media. It also
provides digital text-records on various art presentations.