International Seminar of UMM: ‘Village Libraries’ Are Keys to Develop Literacy

Author : Humas | Wednesday, January 25, 2023 08:25 WIB

The documentation of the Vice Rector I of UMM, Prof. Dr. Syamsul Arifin, M. Si. with the Chairwoman of the Center of FPPTI, Mariyah, S. Sos., M. Hum. (Photo by Syifa PR of UMM)

To run a library in the 4.0 era, librarians must make changes and innovate. One is to collaborate both nationally and internationally, as done by the University of Muhammadiyah Malang on January 21. The campus simultaneously conducted an international seminar entitled Bridging International Networking, Library Partnership, and the Future of Libraries at the Theater Dome of UMM. It inaugurated the new secretariat members of the Indonesian Higher Education Library Forum (Translated: Forum Perpustakaan Perguruan Tinggi Indonesia [FPPTI]) of East Java.

The President of the Malaysian Librarian Association, Ghazali Mohamed Fadzhil, Ph. D., said that to develop a national library, we should pay attention to building libraries in villages. It is because village libraries are the means of children’s books. In Malaysia, building village libraries can foster children’s mindset and understanding of libraries when they grow up.

“If we do not introduce libraries (to children) earlier, they will have a wrong perception related to libraries and librarians. The worst thing, when they are new to libraries when in higher education, children only consider them as a place to do assignments,” said he.

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Moreover, there are other challenges in library management. One is the limitation of librarians’ qualifications at some schools because some librarians jointly serve as teachers and manage libraries.

“Another faced problem is a library report which only focuses on numbers, like the total of visitors and books. It is necessary to focus on economic and social activities. In Malaysia, we succeeded in establishing a culinary business community by holding a weekly cooking event,” expressed Ghazali.

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On the other hand, the Chairwoman of the Center of the Indonesian Higher Education Library Forum, Mariyah, S. Sos., M. Hum., appreciated this international seminar. It can be a good step for Indonesian libraries to expand their network internationally. Regarding the secretariat member inauguration of the Indonesian Higher Education Library Forum of East Java, Mariyah congratulated and expected them to advance libraries and enhance the librarians’ quality in East Java.

“The Indonesian Higher Education Library Forum of East Java is the subdivision of the very active Indonesian Higher Education Library Forum in terms of innovation and competitiveness. Hopefully, it does not decrease and it becomes better. Also, I expect this seminar to be a means of collaboration with characterized, integrated, excellent, trusted, and national or international-reputed universities,” hoped Mariyah.

Regarding library development, Vice Rector I of UMM, Prof. Dr. Syamsul Arifin, M. Si. said that building a library has become more challenging due to the 4.0 industrial era. As a result, bookstores have few visitors, so their income and staff’s prosperity automatically decrease.

“Therefore, adaptability through various innovations is necessary for this present era. Three principles we must hold to collaborate are having an open heart, mind, and desire,” ended the Vice-Rector. (imh/syi/wil)