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The National Library of Indonesia (Perpusnas) participated in the 88th World Library and Information Congress (WILC) International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)  -

The National Library of Indonesia (Perpusnas) participated in the 88th World Library and Information Congress (WILC) International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) which was held in the city of Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

The congress, which took place from 21-25 August 2023 at the Ahoy Convention Center Building in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, raised the theme "Let's Work Together, Lets Library.
IFLA President Barbara Lison said that the theme carried by the Dutch hosts this year was "Let's Library". The unique concept of this theme is formulated with the characteristic of the Dutch language where nouns can turn into verbs.

"This inspires a deeper meaning regarding the role of libraries in society," said Barbara at the opening of the WLIC IFLA 2023 recently.
President Barbara Lison explained that the theme of this conference, 'Let's Library, has a deep meaning.

"We can conclude that the library is not only an object, but also an action. The library is a place for action, sharing and creation. People can feel it in many aspects of everyday life," he explained.

According to a release received by Voice fo Indonesia on Thursday, during WLIC IFLA 2023, he continued, more than 230 class sessions and meetings were held. Participants from various countries and professional backgrounds attended this event to deepen their understanding of the role of libraries in an increasingly complex modern society.

"WLIC IFLA 2023 has provided an opportunity for all of us to share views, challenges and solutions that can be adapted and implemented in various parts of the world. Libraries are not only about collecting and disseminating knowledge, but also about advancing society and global sustainability," said the President of IFLA .

He hopes that WLIC IFLA 2023 will continue to have a positive impact in advancing the role of libraries in the midst of the development and dynamics of modern society.

"With the spirit of 'Let's Library', the library is expected to continue to be a center of activity, creativity, discussion and knowledge sharing for the global community," he hoped.

Meanwhile, Head of National Library of Indonesia Muhammad Syarif Bando said National Library of Indonesia received extraordinary appreciation from congress participants through the Social Inclusion-Based Library Transformation (TPBIS) program. These participants included heads of libraries, representatives of institutions and parliaments, literacy activists, and libraries from all over the world.

"The National Library of Indonesia has received attention from heads of libraries around the world because of its breakthrough TPBIS program which is able to empower libraries in the welfare of society," he said.

The Head of National Library added that in efforts to increase the public literacy index, National Library has also made a real contribution by involving all components of the nation, including collaboration with the executive, legislative, judiciary, TNI, POLRI, to collaboration with literacy activists throughout Indonesia.

Further explained, this effort is accompanied by the development of library infrastructure that is evenly distributed. Such as the construction of library buildings, collection donations, information technology.

"Even by presenting mobile libraries such as mobile library cars (MPK), library motorbikes, library boats, library horses, library trishaws, to library public transportation," he said.

The Head of National Library emphasized that the library paradigm has changed. The library strives to embrace the wider community, the library reaches out to the community.
Several initiatives have been taken, including through the development of applications such as iPusnas, BintangPusnas, Indonesia One Search (IOS), Khastara, and various content created by content creators.

"This step makes National Library of Indonesia the leading library in the world with the principle of open access for reference collections and scientific journals," he said.

At this year's IFLA conference, National Library managed to send a delegation represented by Soraya Hariyani Putri and Sadariyah Ariningrum Wijiastuti, with an interesting article entitled "Reference Service Crisis in Research: Threat or Opportunity for Librarian?".

On the sidelines of the conference, the Director of the National Library also signed a cooperation agreement with the Qatar National Library. This collaboration is related to borrowing collections owned by each library.

National Library also actively participated by opening an exhibition booth displaying various information about TPBIS which had been successfully implemented.

Visitors can see firsthand the positive impact produced by literacy activists in various regions in Indonesia in increasing people's interest in reading.

Apart from that, a collection of ancient manuscripts from the National Library which has been recognized as "Memory of the World" by UNESCO is also on display. This collection of ancient manuscripts provides an overview of the history and rich culture of Indonesia//VOI