Library and Information Science Study Program’s Lecturer became a participant in the talk show about Increasing the Community Reading Index for Welfare in Sumedang Regency with the theme “Strong Community Literacy, Increased Economic Growth” on Saturday (16/12/2023). Mr. Kusnandar, M.Si., was one of the speakers representing academics, and Mr. Asep Saeful Rohman, M.I. Kom., became the moderator. Other speakers who attended this event were Plt. Head of the National Library RI, Prof. E. Aminudin Aziz, MA, Ph.D., DPRD Member of the Sumedang Regency, Anisa Choeriah, S.Pd., Main Expert Librarian of the National Library RI, Drs. Herman Suryatman, M.Si., and FTBM Literacy Activist, Kang Opik. This event took place live and via the PAPPBD National Library of Indonesia YouTube Channel.
Apart from literacy, culture was also one of the things discussed at this event. It is related to Sumedang Regency, which became the Puseur of Sundanese Culture based on Sumedang Regency Regional Regulation (PERDA) No. 1 of 2020 about Sumedang the Puseur of Sundanese Culture. Mr. Asep said that one of the most noble and important cultural expressions as a characteristic of a highly civilized society is knowledge. Where libraries can never be separated from knowledge, so it is necessary to know the role and strategic steps of libraries in managing culture. “… as an academic in Library and Information Science, as well as a cultural observer, what is the role of libraries and the strategic efforts that public libraries, librarians and stakeholders can make to be able to realize that Sumedang as the Puseur Sundanese Culture?” He asked.
Mr. Kusnandar said that one of the things that libraries need to do in relation to culture, especially content, is to accommodate not a little, quite a lot, or even most of it with local content or local knowledge that exists around the library. So, libraries not only exist as institutions that can be inclusively used by the public but also play a role in ‘capturing’ and making local knowledge into local collections. In this way, providing collections in libraries does not only rely on existing publications and grants but can create their own collections by utilizing local knowledge.
Apart from that, Mr. Kusnandar also emphasized the importance of library collaboration with various stakeholders, such as TBM activists and the community, to record local knowledge jointly. He also added that libraries must know the dynamics that the content provided in the library is not only general in nature but can also contain local content. In closing, he said that fellow literacy and library activists must start to be aware or realize that the knowledge of the past is not old school, not ancient, but is still relevant if it can be applied to the present.
