Indonesia brings literacy lessons to global library congress

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia’s National Library (Perpusnas) brought its literacy initiatives and experience to the 90th IFLA World Library and Information Congress and a satellite meeting in South Korea.

National Library Head E. Aminudin Aziz said here Wednesday that participation in the international forum should deliver tangible benefits for both the institution and the public.

“Knowledge, experience and networks gained must be brought home and translated into ideas and practices relevant to strengthening libraries and literacy in Indonesia,” he said.

Ten Indonesian delegates attended the IFLA congress from Aug. 10 to 13, including four National Library staff who served as presenters.

They were Irhamni Ali, Suci Indrawati Irwan, Sadariyah Ariningrum Wijiastuti and Yaya Ofia Mabruri.

Wijiastuti, one of 16 participants in the IFLA Emerging Leaders 2026 program, presented on popular culture as a gateway to literacy, library impact and the Community Literacy Volunteer model.

The Relima program expanded from 180 volunteers across 177 districts and cities in 2025 to 360 volunteers across 321 districts and cities in 2026.

Mabruri, recipient of the Angela Bersekowski Grant, highlighted collaboration among libraries, schools, educators, families and communities to strengthen reading, critical thinking and originality amid artificial intelligence development.

Irwan discussed scholarly communication through diamond open access, emphasizing that research repositories should make knowledge accessible, discoverable, interconnected and reusable.

Ali presented the use of artificial intelligence to monitor public library performance, saying data should identify patterns and inform decisions while accounting for data quality, context and community needs.

The National Library’s participation also included visits to several South Korean libraries, providing opportunities for knowledge exchange and networking to support library transformation and literacy development in Indonesia.

Translator: Lintang, Kenzu
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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