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National Library's book collection for visually impaired 'still limited': Association
The library provides up to 3,276 Braille books and 462 audiobooks, ranging from fiction and nonfiction including biographies, religion and general knowledge.
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Regarding the library service, Furqon Hidayat, a member and former secretary-general of the Indonesian Association of Visually Impaired People (Pertuni), said that the availability of Braille books and audiobooks was still quite limited. (Shutterstock/File)
Thousands of Braille books and audiobooks can be found at the National Library of Indonesia in Central Jakarta.
Neatly stacked in shelves, the books are part of the library's Senior and Disability Service, which also hosts a special area for wheelchairs, audiobook reader tools and special computers for visitors who are visually impaired. The computer allows them to expand images in a book using a scanner and is also equipped with a Sweden-made screen reader application.
According to a staff member at the disability service, Arum Nugrahanti, the library provides up to 3,276 Braille books and 462 audiobooks, ranging from fiction and nonfiction including biographies, religion and general knowledge.
Among the fiction book collection are Pidi Baiq's Dilan and Bumi Manusia (This Earth of Mankind) by Pramoedya Ananta Toer -- both have been adapted into movies.
Read also: Jakpost guide to the National Library of Indonesia
As quoted by tempo.co on Thursday, Arum said most of the disabled visitors opted to read audiobooks, however, quite a few also enjoyed the Braille books.
The seven Harry Potter novels, for instance, said Arum, are among the library's most popular collections, "There are many Braille books available for the seven novels of Harry Potter," she said.
The disabled visitors usually arrive at the library in groups, hopping on a special vehicle such as Transjakarta Cares -- a free service from Transjakarta for people with disabilities in Jakarta that can be booked one day prior to departure through call center 1500102.
However, regarding the library service, Furqon Hidayat, a member and former secretary-general of the Indonesian Association of Visually Impaired People (Pertuni), said that the availability of Braille books and audiobooks was still quite limited.
The screen reader app also sometimes has difficulty in reading online reading material that they have brought themselves.
Many of the disabled people also live far away from the library hence they have trouble in accessing the service, said Furqon. (kes)
