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City libraries need money for renovations
Holes in the ceilings of the South Jakarta public library in Gandaria are a cause for concern, with many librarians worried about the safety of visitors and book collections
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Holes in the ceilings of the South Jakarta public library in Gandaria are a cause for concern, with many librarians worried about the safety of visitors and book collections.
Some parts of the ceilings, including in the storage room and reading rooms on the first and second floors, are leaking.
"This condition is very annoying for us, especially during the wet season. I can't sleep soundly when it rains hard. I worry about whether the book collections are safe from water," Cahya Ningsih, library administrator, told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.
"We are afraid the water will damage the books. We are also worried the holes will get bigger and spread to other areas," she said, pointing to holes in the ceiling on the second floor.
The library's management has decided to erect wooden masts to support the ceilings and to prevent them from falling.
"We are very concerned about our visitors' safety and comfort. But this is all we can do because we do not have enough money to fix the ceilings and roofs," she said.
The worst is the ceiling above the corridor to the book processing room. The ceiling collapsed on July 28, the night before the library held a drawing competition for kindergarten and elementary school students, Ningsih said.
"Fortunately, there were no casualties. We have not fixed it either. We renovated the building in 2003, but it is already damaged now," she said.
The library was established in 1987, and was given the title of the country's best library in 2005.
Some visitors to the library have also noticed the leaks.
"We hope the book collections will not get wet or damaged," said Nurmuayyadah, a university student.
"I also noticed that there were some wooden masts around the room. I'm afraid that they will fall down."
Mudakir Iskandarsyah, the head of the library, said the library's management sent a proposal to the Jakarta administration for maintenance funds a few years ago, but had not received a response.
"We sent letters to the South Jakarta administration. The mayor claimed that he had proposed a budget to the Jakarta administration. But as of today, we have received no aid," Mudakir said.
"We have had no problems attaining books for our collections because the South Jakarta administration has consistently provided us with books.
"The problem is, we need funds to renovate the roofs and ceilings," he said.
Central Jakarta library is also facing the same problem.
Yusnidar, the head of the Central Jakarta library, said the building had not been renovated since it was built in 1987.
"We haven't received this year's budget. Last year, we proposed Rp 500 million (US$32,580) for the library, but the city administration only gave us Rp 85 million. It's not enough to carry out renovations," Yusnidar said.
"The administration may have other priorities when drafting the budget, but a library is a matter of education. The administration should support us more," she said.
Tuty Mulyaty, the head of the city library office, said she hoped the renovation plan would come true in 2009.
"It depends on the City Council's decision. If they approve the budget, I'm sure we will renovate next year," Tuty said.
The administration allocated more than Rp 23 trillion to the Central Jakarta library this year.
It is has allocated more than Rp 54 trillion in the 2009 draft budget.
