Do Indonesians have a culture of reading? Not really was the finding of experts debating the issue on the occasion of the National Book Day on May 17, which coincided with the establishment of the National Library 41 years ago.
Despite the increasing number of books published over the past decade — 20,000 volumes in 2012 and 49,000 so far this year – reading as a habitual tradition remains low in comparison to that in other countries.
According to UNESCO, Indonesia ranks 69th out of 127 countries in reading competence. Worse, only one out of a 1,000 people in Indonesia actually enjoys reading. Children reportedly read only 27 book pages in one year. Nationwide, a study by the National Library found that just 12 provinces and 28 regencies/cities make any effort to encourage more reading.
One reason for the low interest may be the difficulty in accessing books. There are not enough libraries, let alone books, to spur a wider interest. According to findings in Pustaka Bergerak, many of the books that are available in local bookstores cover uninteresting topics, particularly those published and promoted by governments.
In schools, most curricula do not provide any incentive for students to read beyond required textbooks, which in turn fails to instil in them the joy of reading and expanding their knowledge and imagination. There seem to be few inducements to invest time and resources into reading, particularly with the easy access to alternative sources of information and entertainment on television and the internet. Perhaps that could change with an increase in the publication of e-books.
Happy to report there was a quite a big turnout for our fund-raising series of virtual events titled ‘Home Beyond Borders’ which attracted numerous viewers and participants from around the world. It only goes to show the growing interest in Indonesian culture and literature and further motivating us to continue with our mission.
Yuli Ismartono
yismartono@lontar.org