Minor renovations have been done here and there to make the place suitable to display thousands of books on bookshelves grouped into different categories; from children's books and health to fiction.

Most of the bookshelves are installed in an open-air area as most of the building has no roof. The cinema, which had its heyday in the 1970s-1980s, used the concept of misbar (open-air cinema) and only those who paid for a more expensive ticket could sit in the roofed part.

Read also: Literacy festival in Surakarta encourages people to write

A stage is also provided at the venue to host speakers who want to share knowledge and experiences on related issues. The organizing committee is also cooperating with film communities to screen short movies during the event.

“Through this event we want to revive the stories and memories of many people in this area given that Kelud cinema has a long history and is attached to the identity of Malang,” the event’s co-initiator Windy Ariestanty said on the sidelines of the festival on Monday.

Held for the second time after it was introduced in Yogyakarta in March, the event displays over 8,000 titles; all on offer with a discount of up to 80 percent. The busiest times are after school with most of the visitors to be found flocking to the shelves that had books on sale at Rp 10,000 (less than US$1) each.

"Patjarmerah is like a mobile circus. From here we will move to other places in Indonesia, calling on book lovers to come and join us,” Windy said.

She said Patjarmerah was held to improve poor literacy access. However, people’s reading interest was not low, she said, the fact that 7,000 visitors visited the event in the first two days served as proof of this.

Literacy observer and literature professor at Malang State University Djoko Saryono said improving literacy access was important in preventing knowledge gaps in society.

“One way of doing so is through events like Patjarmerah that proactively approach the community,” Djoko said.

He added that Patjarmerah’s agenda was presented like a buffet menu, in which people had numerous literacy choices and this approach was good.

“Literacy does not necessarily require a luxurious place. This way it can also embrace all segments of the community, including villagers,” said Djoko, urging the government to support such events. (kes)

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