Poor Library Reading Campaign

Romi Febriyanto Saputro
This paper has been published in the magazine Genta Reader Vol. I Number 6, June - July 2007

On 20 March 2007, declared in the city of Solo Campaign Ayo viable Reading. This reading campaign is the result of the cooperation program of English, Faculty of Science and Teacher Education (FLOP) University Eleven March (UNS), Solo, PT Balai Pustaka, Central Java language and English MGMP se-Soloraya.
Pencanangan campaign to motivate and encourage the community to enjoy reading this will be done by the Head of Language Center of the National Education Ministry (the Ministry of Education), Dr Dendy Sugono, at the Quality Hotel.
Ayo campaign viable Reading is a campaign about the time declared by both the government and NGOs. However, campaign or movement to increase public interest in reading is often sterility.
During this campaign read more impressed as a place tebar enchantment. Order a new government Day visit Library (14 September 1997), Megawati government reaction, the National Movement (November 12, 2003), and the government of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono reaction Movement Library in the Community Empowerment (17 May 2006).
Various kinds of campaigns are usually only be stopped merely as a slogan. Why? First, the base reading campaign is not clear. During this government always said that reading is important. However, the government (quasi-) forget that provide facilities for people to read is also important.
Campaign read often done without involving the library. In the campaign should be based library. Developing interest in reading should be defined by the library first. Why? Because the library is an institution that allows most people to approach them and invite the world to love reading
Force for the nations interest is the ability to read, and cultural force for berseminya reading is reading habits, while the reading habits will be met and maintained by the availability of good reading material, interesting, well-sufficient type, quantity and quality (Fuad Hasan, 2001)
Second, the campaign is intended only to read people. Even people not necessarily "do not want to read." Specialists in education in the land of water often sentence to read people's interest that Indonesia is low. Is this verdicts?
Interest read our society is not as serendah picture above. If we want to observe the board, board of the newspaper alongside a road crowded senantiasi read by many people.
Bookmobile visiting primary schools in pedesaanpun always get a rousing welcome from the students. So, read the interests of our people is not serendah verdicts as education experts.
The root of the problem lies in the ability and opportunity for rakyar access to books with a cheap and easy. If people are reading it should be consistent with the government to build the library as well as possible and as much as possible.
The representatives of the people should be encouraged to help empower the library. Pencanangan read the campaign in Solo This is ironic. Given some time and the development plan of building the Regional Library Surakarta successfully be defeated by the representatives of the people. Apparently, people's representatives fear losing more money than the allowance komunikasinya lose interest in reading represented by the people.
So, read the campaign also need to be elements of the executive and legislative areas. To keep the brass also has to increase the awareness of people reading interests.
Third, the campaign and always read too mengkambinghitamkan oral culture as the main factors the low interest in reading people. This has caused "all kinds of sins" is charged in the oral culture.
If we reopen the horizon the history of this nation, in the past, many born works of literature of high-value, which is an indicator that the culture of writing is not something foreign to our nation.
Arjuna Wiwaha book by the digubah Mpu Kanwa in the Kingdom Kahuripan; Bharatayudha were composing by the Mpu Sedah & Mpu Panuluh at the Kediri Kingdom; Negarakertagama fruit works Mpu Prapanca Sutasoma and fruit Mpu Tantular works on the Majapahit Kingdom is evidence that the oral culture, culture read, write and culture can BERSINERGI well.
Thus, indeed our nation in the past have already read that interest is high enough. Culture write as developing the oral culture is also growing. Works such as the above may not be born from the low reading of culture.
If there is the social stereotypes that people read our interest is low, then this is we need to re-examined. The reluctance of people to read due to several reasons: first, the quality of libraries in Indonesia in general is still concern that the community pride in the collection is not available.
Second, the limited collection of non-books in the library. For public library districts and cities generally have not supported by a number of newspapers, tabloids, magazines, journals and adequate. so that people are often disappointing. Even as one of the central library of information need to be supported by a collection of newspapers and magazines, which vary.
With a collection of newspapers and magazines are expected to be able to accommodate a variety of community necessary information and minimize the frustration that people do not find information of interest.
Third, the limitations of the communities in remote areas access to resources in reading. Communities in rural and remote areas was also thirsty for information. However, because of their difficulty to access information and resources to make reads as if they have no interest in reading high.
The design of mobile libraries are beginning to see the public interest to serve in remote areas need to be rebuilt in a professional and more serious, not just topple obligations.
Moreover, for geographical Indonesia is an archipelago of the active role of mobile library is be expected. Reality in the field showed that the weakness of the main library of mobile libraries is collections of materials and coverage area of operations is still limited.