Publishers dream of better book industry

Publishers dream of better book industry

By Stevie Emilia

JAKARTA (JP): Shopping malls are almost always packed with
shoppers checking out a staggering load of commodities. Wealthy
people pack upscale restaurants eating to their heart's content.
Apparently, the economic crisis is not "crippling" this section
of the society.

But take some time and look at book stores. Do not be amazed
if you find few people in them. And if you go to the library, do
not be dismayed if you find only a handful of readers.

Jakarta's famous nine-story national library, the city's main
library located in Jl. Salemba, Central Jakarta, is no exception
in terms of small attendance. There, the bulk of its over 1.2
million books and periodicals are left to gather dust, rarely
touched.

The library cannot do much to encourage people to come and
read.

A library employee, who declined to give her name, said, "Most
of our visitors are students looking for books for their school
assignments."

The library serves about 500 people a day, of which 300 are
members.

More people might prefer going to modern, air-conditioned book
stores like Gramedia in Mal Taman Anggrek shopping center, West
Jakarta. But wait a minute. The people brushing shoulders are not
necessarily buyers.

Indra Mahendra told The Jakarta Post while flipping through
Otomotif weekly tabloid on Tuesday night, "I'm waiting for my
wife shopping."

He said he had no intention of buying anything at the
bookstore. "I just want to kill time."

Apart from the magazine and tabloid stand, the bookstore's
most crowded section is the comic books' stand, where children
have a dizzying array of choices with the translated versions of
foreign comics like Kungfu Boy or Disney's series Mickey Mouse.

According to one of the bookstore's attendants, the trend is
not new. "After looking through latest edition of magazines or
tabloids, they usually leave without buying," she said.

People's lack of interest in reading is attributed to a lack
of quality books and a lack of encouragement at school and at
home.

Children's book observer Murti Bunanta told the Post, "I see
that all time, most publishers prioritize commercial aspects
rather than quality in books. I have nothing against it, I know
they have to survive. But we need quality books."

Citing an example, she said many publishers preferred
publishing best-selling children books as series.

"This is a trick to make children want every single book of
the series," said Murti, a member of the Society for Advancement
of Children in Literature.

Good-quality children's books are those which not only have
educational value but also promote peace, humanity and
understanding of others.

"I cannot say our books are of good quality; they're not too
bad. Still, we want better books."

Poor interest

The Indonesian Book Publishers Association's chairman, Arselan
Harahap, said that everybody, including families, teachers, the
government and non-governmental organizations, are responsible
for improving the people's interest in reading.

"But I think the government has the biggest responsibility for
improving people's interest in reading by, first of all,
improving our education system," Arselan said, adding that the
present system does not encourage students to read.

However, he added, there were other factors responsible for
people's low reading habits, such as the presence of various
electronic media.

"People are reluctant to visit libraries. They would rather
stay at home watching television," Arselan said.

Visiting libraries, he said, was of an even lesser priority.
Quoting cultural observer Ignas Kleden, he said that in Europe,
development of a city includes four important pillars: a city
hall, a market, a place of worship and a library.

"But here, investors are reluctant to invest their money in
building good libraries," Arselan said. "As we all see, luxurious
housing complexes have shopping malls, but no libraries."

No clear policy

The government is yet to have a clear policy on the book
industry, including policies on pricing and trade.

Currently, the association's officials have to go to various
government offices to get their demands heard, such as for
special transportation arrangements for books, tax exemption for
all books and special procurement of paper for books.

So far, the government has tax exemptions for school books and
religious books only. "In my opinion, all books should be freed
from taxes," said Arselan, who is also a publishing director of
PT Pustaka LP3ES (Institute for Research, Education, Economic and
Social Information) Indonesia.

The absence of special transportation arrangements for books
makes books in Jakarta, where major publishers are located,
cheaper than those in Aceh or Irian Jaya, he said.

"Many book policies should be redefined, and clear policies
would cut all the bureaucratic procedures," Arselan said. "All
this time, we only hear political statements regarding the book
industry."

The association was set up on May 17, 1950, with only 13
publishers as initial members. It plans to celebrate its 50th
anniversary later this month by inviting President Abdurrahman
Wahid to a gathering.

Now the association, which is also a member of the
International Publishers Association and has helped set up the
Association of Southeast Asia Publishers, has 598 members.

"Before the crisis, we had 660 members," Arselan said, adding
that most of the remaining publishers were now simply trying to
sell their unsold stocks of books, and only between 10 percent
and 15 percent manage to release new books.

The crisis has also reduced the number of published books.

Prior to the crisis, the association's members released 5,000
to 7,000 new titles each year. But now, there are only 1,500 to
2,000 published per year.