An Indian professor once was invited to deliver a general lecture in Malang Islamic University (UIN – Universitas Islam Negeri) East Java. From Surabaya airport he went to Malang city by bus. After coming back to India, he told us, Indonesian students in India, his impression thus:
Between Surabaya and Malang, I was so amazed to see so many hypermarkets, great supermalls and big restaurants. I saw a restaurant which is so big that I never see it before in India. What “amazed” me even more was that I did NOT see any public library at all.
He then blasted (with “emphaty”) a question that unable us to answer with pride: “So, what are you people doing other than shopping and eating out?”
Greg Barton in his The Authorized Biography of Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) writes that during his 13-year stay in Indonesia he hardly find any middle class Indonesian who has got even a decent private library. Gus Dur’s big private library, therefore, is a once-in-blue-moon phenomenon.
The Indian professor criticism is understandable. In India public library can be found almost everywhere for anyone to read. Not to say in universities. Among the middle-class Indian, having a good private library is a must and something they are proud of. Consequently, with this conducive enovironment, the reading habit among the average Indians are higher than any other developing countries. The low price of newspaper (with only IDR 300 or Rs 2 Indian rupees) you can get best selling English newspaper such as The Times of India or The Hindu. You need IDR 3,000 to buy newspaper like Kompas, Jawa Pos, or The Jakarta Post. In a country like Indonesia where millions of people earn less than a dollar (IDR 9,000) a day, that amount is huge.
Library in Universities: Many university library are open for 24-hour a day. And amazingly the library is always packed with student who are reading either the text books or international journals and other general stuffs. You will hardly find this in Indonesia where a library is packed with readers who are quietly reading their respective books.
Lessons learnt:
1. Governments and lawmakers both need to synergize to make a policy which is conducive to boost reading habit as a hobby both for people and students by (a) lowering the price for goods which is having to do with paper production (books, newspapers, magazines); (b) encouraging people and students to read more by establishing a good library in every village.
2. What Indonesian middle-class can do: (a) shopping books more rather than clothes and other luxurious stuffs: it’s a lot better off to have a good brain than a good car; (b) helping the poor people to have access to read more by contributing and donating to any public library available preferably in remote areas; (c) setting library themselves in any given villages they prefer to set up.
I myself have a long plan to set up a decent library at least in every village around me which could expand to another neighboring area one day. I just set up one currently. Hopefully, this will have a domino effect to other like-minded people to do the same.
Oh, they’re reading alright. Harry Potter is a form of literary too right?
First thing first, there are those who are more receptive to the idea of auditory learning, visual learning, and/or kinesthetic learning. In my opinion, it’s mainly divided by two: theoritical and practical learning.
As an example, when teaching children aged 7 or 8 years old, we can no longer give them a block of words to memorize (to memorize, untuk menghafal, sounds familiar?). We should encourage them to play with science. Get them IN the process of knowledge, not just consume it.
Therefore, yes, the government (and NGOs, and the media) must facilitate more access to the reading culture, but also to the writing, creating, and innovating culture as a progressive continuance.
Reading is a start–cutting those high taxes on imported books is a start as well. Then again, we wouldn’t be writing these comments if we weren’t accustomed to reading. Note: Indonesia gains revenue around six trillion rupiahs on books.
Best of luck for your project.
[...] yang juga lazim digunakan untuk menolak membaca adalah mahalnya harga suatu buku dan ketiadaan perpustakaan publik dalam jumlah yang memadai. Kita tentu tahu bahwa pemerintah dalam jangka waktu dekat tidak mampu mengurangi harga kertas, [...]
Hi Fatih, Great post! If you have time, please read the article on this link below:
http://www.suarapembaruan.com/News/2006/12/29/Utama/ut02.htm
Irina Amongpradja is my mom and I know exactly the difficulties that she has been going through to help these children, the future generation of our country. Really heartbreaking. After being kicked out from the old building, which was owned by the government, my mother built a smaller “school” so these children can continue with their study.
Knowing that you have a long plan to set up a decent library in every village around you, maybe you can also help her in providing education for these children, by any means. Send me an e-mail if you are interested. My salute to your vision.
Pak Fatih–and all bloggers, I have a suggestion.
Why not publish a book, written by bloggers? An anthology of articles, or something alike? Maybe concerning on a specific theme, paradigm, or cause.
From my feed reader, I just found out there are over 900 blog posts published in around thirty blogs I’ve bookmarked–this blog is one of them. Over 900 blog posts (!!!).
The posts are already written and published anyways, therefore each blogger won’t have to start from scratch. Just set up a team who is willing to execute the project.
So, why not create a milestone out of it? In form of a book, of course.
Anyone else interested?
good idea marisa. there’s already a book an anthology written by many bloggers in Iran We are Iran. The book compiled by an editor responsible for this job.
the question is who wants to the one? are you interested marisa? i’ll support you.
But of course, this would mean bloggers will have to stop pissing each other off, and actually seek out a common ground to work on. Only by then, our local bloggers can contribute something worthwhile for the larger mass, the society.
Personal library for our middle class? Ahhhh…Surely they do have it but mostly have changed it into a walk-in closet, Baby, heh heh heh..!
reading is the only way to change our intelektual
[...] On Reading Habit and Library: Lesson #5 from India, authored by Fatih Syuhud. [...]
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Mas Fatih saya doakan cita-cita luhur soal perputakaan kampung bisa terwujud.
Bahkan saya yakin bung atau pasti ada orang Indonesia yang bisa seperti john wood mantan eksekutif microsoft itu, yang sukses mendirikan 3600 perpustakkan di pelosok-pelosok asia.
tentang buku, saya pikir kemajuan ekonomi china dan india tak lepas dari budaya baca yang hebat