The number of books read by Indonesian people is still very low compared to other countries. This is due to the low interest in reading among Indonesian people. The lack of reading facilities and completeness of books is suspected to be one of the causes of the low interest in reading among people in Indonesia.
In the United States, a person can read ten to twenty books in a year, in Japan ten to fifteen books, while people in the ASEAN region other than Indonesia read two to three books in a year. What is very sad is that in Indonesia, the average person only reads zero to one book per year.
This was conveyed by the Head of the National Library of the Republic of Indonesia, Sri Sularsih on the sidelines of the event. talk show fond of reading with the theme 'Libraries Make the Nation Smarter, Realize an Indonesia Fond of Reading', at the TP PKK Hall of Malang City, Jl. Tangkuban Perahu 1B Malang, Monday (15/12).
That is the basis for the National Library of the Republic of Indonesia to actively carry out road show fond of reading in several regions in Indonesia today. "With this event, we hope that the public's interest in reading can increase. The progress of a country, one of which depends on the quality of Human Resources (HR). Fond of reading is an effort to form good HR," explained the woman in the hijab.
"What is happening in our society today is that the majority of citizens prefer to watch... infotainment and using social media instead of taking the time to read books. These are the things that must be avoided, especially among the younger generation so that they can form a quality mentality," explained Sularsih.
He added that in order for people to enjoy reading, events related to reading should be held as often as possible, such as synopsis competitions. "Meanwhile, to increase the collection or book procurement, we should not rely too much on the budget or assistance from the government," Sularsih appealed.
Meanwhile, the Assistant for Development Administration, Ir. Hadi Santoso said that the Malang City Government will provide all facilities to foster public interest in reading. "We will continue to add reading spots and provide the need for books as quality reading materials. In several places such as Trunojoyo Park, there are already reading parks," he said. (say/yon)
