Jakarta Globe recently ran a report about concerns over the largest archive of Indonesia's literature. The budget has been cut to $28,000 for the H.B. Jassin Documentation Centre at the Taman Ismail Marzuki cultural complex , Cikini,central Jakarta, not enough to meet the administration costs of the free library and carry out conservation work against mould.
Jassin,who died in 2000,was a keen bibliophile and began collecting novels, poetry and plays in Indonesian , in 1932. Today the library houses more than 16,000 works of fiction, some 12,000 nonfiction, and thousands of documents and photos from some of the country’s leading literary figures. A fund has been launched to prevent a possible closure and there have been assurances that it would be unthinkable for such a decision.
In view of the NT’s long association with Indonesia and the fact that a former Chief Minister,Shane Stone,has/had business interests in that country, there could be an opportunity for the NT government ,organisations and individuals to help.
Jassin,who died in 2000,was a keen bibliophile and began collecting novels, poetry and plays in Indonesian , in 1932. Today the library houses more than 16,000 works of fiction, some 12,000 nonfiction, and thousands of documents and photos from some of the country’s leading literary figures. A fund has been launched to prevent a possible closure and there have been assurances that it would be unthinkable for such a decision.
In view of the NT’s long association with Indonesia and the fact that a former Chief Minister,Shane Stone,has/had business interests in that country, there could be an opportunity for the NT government ,organisations and individuals to help.
