VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Head of Indonesian Library, Syarif Bando take pictures with other participants in Belarusia - 

The National Library of the Republic of Indonesia (Perpusnas) participated in the X International Conference with the theme Libraries as a Cultural Phenomenon.

This activity took place at the Belarusian National Library for two days, Thursday-Friday (19-20/10/2023).
Head of the National Library of Belarus, Vadzim Hihin opened the conference dedicated to commemorating the Year of Peace and Creation.

Furthermore, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus, Roman Golovchenko, in his speech expressed his hope that all participants present could work well and communicate professionally.

For ten years, the conference has been the official discussion platform in Belarus for discussing issues and trends in the library community.

At the plenary session, all heads and authoritative specialists of the largest libraries, archives, museums, publishing houses, research organizations and educational institutions, manufacturers of software, hardware, information products and industrial equipment for libraries discussed the national identity as well as international cooperation of libraries.

Cultural diplomacy acts as an opportunity for peace in conditions of geopolitical confrontation, the influence of external factors on the acquisition of libraries and the provision of services.

The Director of the National Library, Muhammad Syarif Bando, during the coffee break session, gave a testimony: according to him, the theme raised at the X International Conference was the inevitability of the presence of the digital era in carrying out digital transformation of library services to all users, especially the millennial generation.

Furthermore, the Head of the National Library added that Indonesia had carried out a digital transformation program for the library and produced 5 (five) digital library products, namely iPusnas, e-Resources, Khastara, BintangPusnas, and creative content produced by National Library librarians.

The Director of the National Library, Muhammad Syarif Bando, at the gala dinner expressed his appreciation for the invitation given and said that library management in Indonesia consists of collection management by 10%, knowledge management by 20%, and knowledge transfer by 70%.

"Currently, what is a national program and has full support from the Indonesian government is Library Transformation Based on Social Inclusion (TPBIS). "This program makes the library a center for community activities that have an impact on independence and welfare," he said.

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Tuesday, this conference was organized in collaboration with the Belarusian Library with the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Belarus, the Ministry of Information of the Republic of Belarus and the National Library of Belarus with the support of interstate funds for humanitarian cooperation of member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States or CIS (Commonwealth Independent States) and the Belarusian Library Association.

The participants who attended came from various countries including Russia, Indonesia, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Activities held on the first day included breakout sessions, exhibitions of publishing products, electronic information resources and services, discussion forums with the theme Digital Transformation of Library Activities and Trend Formation: Innovative Activities of Regional Libraries.

On the second day, two discussion sessions were held entitled Project Initiatives and Socio-Cultural Practices of Cultural and Educational Institutions, as well as Scientific and Organizational Support for Library Activities.

On the same occasion, a memorandum of understanding was also signed between the National Library and the National Library of Belarus.

Also part of the conference was the opening of the exhibition Treasures of Books of the Kuteinsky Monastery, dedicated to the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Holy Epiphany Kuteinsky Monastery//VOI