Hari Perpustakaan Nasional 17 Mei: Sejarah dan Peringatannya ke-43

Jakarta –

Memorial National Library Or the anniversary of the National Library of Indonesia is celebrated on May 17 every year. This year marks the 43rd anniversary of National Library Day on May 17, 2023, which also coincides with the celebration of National Book Day.

Check out the historical explanation of the National Library and its 43rd anniversary, which falls on May 17, 2023:

The history of the establishment of the National Library of Indonesia is still closely related to the National Museum. The collection of rare books and publications owned by the National Library of Indonesia was formerly a collection of grants from the National Museum Library, which at that time was called the Indonesian Cultural Institute (the result of a name change from Koninklijk Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wittenschapen).

Long before that, the establishment of the National Library of Indonesia began since the time of the Dutch East Indies. The following is the historical timeline for the establishment of the National Library from time to time as reported in the official Instagram upload of the National Library (@perpusnas.go.id):

(1778) Perpustakaan milik Batavian Society of Arts and Sciences

On April 24, 1778, a scientific institute was founded, which was called the Bibliotheca Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen.

The building which is now known as the National Museum stood during the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC) initiative by Mr. JCM Rademaker, Chairman of the Raad van Indie (Dutch East Indies Council). Owned by the Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen, the library collects books, magazines, maps, documents and local newspapers that have been at the forefront of the collections of the National Library of Indonesia (Perpusnas RI).

(1913) Dutch East Indies Government Regulation: Submission of Books from Publishers

An important matter relating to libraries that occurred during the Dutch East Indies era was the issuance of a regulation for book storage by the Government of the Dutch East Indies in 1913 namely Staatsblad No. No. 7981 of 1913 regarding Toezending van drukwerken aan het Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen.

Based on these regulations, publishers were required to submit a single copy of everything published in the Dutch East Indies to the library. At present, similar regulations are known in the form of Law no. No. 13 of 2018 Concerning the Deposit Transfer of Printed and Recorded Works which confirms one of the functions of the Indonesian National Library, which is the deposit function.

(1923) Penganugerahan ‘Koninklijk’ pada named Batavian Society of Arts and Sciences

The Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen is a private library because its collection is private and its use is restricted to researchers. This library received the title of Koninklik in 1923 from the Dutch government because it was considered successful in advancing science, especially languages, geography and anthropology in the Dutch East Indies.

(1942-1945) Japanese Occupation: Absence of Librarian Activities

During the Japanese occupation, around 1942 to 1945, there were no librarian activities. This happened because Japan mobilized all its energy for the purposes of the war machine. At the beginning of its reign, Japan banned the circulation of books in Dutch, English, and other European languages.

(1948) Library of the Indonesian Cultural Institute: United Nations Publications and Representatives Library

After Indonesia’s declaration of independence, in 1948, the UN designated the Koninklijk Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen as the repository library for all UN publications and UN representatives with the name changed to the Library of the Indonesian Cultural Institute.

(1949) Yogyakarta State Library

Between 1945 and 1949, the Government of the Republic of Indonesia and its headquarters in Yogyakarta established the Yogyakarta State Library on October 17, 1949. Then this library changed its name to the State Library of the Ministry of Education and Culture in 1952, and then moved its locations and changed its name again to the Regional Regional Library District Special Yogyakarta in 1978.

In 2007 when it was designated as a cultural heritage building, this library bore the name of National Regional Library D1. Yogyakarta. Since 2010, this building has been called the “Malioboro Regional Library Unit” or better known as the Jogja Library Centre.

(1950) The name was changed to the Indonesian Cultural Institute

Quoting Undip.ac.id, in 1950 the name of the library belonging to the Bataviaasche Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen (BGKW) changed to the Indonesian Cultural Institute. This is because it was handed over to the Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the name was changed to the Central Museum so that it is known as the Central Public Library.

(1980) Establishment of the National Library of the Republic of Indonesia

It didn’t stop there, the name kept changing until it became the National Museum. While the library was known as the National Museum Library which was later merged into the Library Development Center in 1980. Finally, in 1989, a change occurred again.

The Library Development Center has been consolidated as part of the National Library of the Republic of Indonesia (Perpusnas RI). The Indonesian National Library was established on May 17, 1980 based on the decree of the Minister of Education and Culture No. 0164/0/1980 signed by Dr. Daoud Joseph, Minister of Education at the time.

National Library Celebration of the 43rd Anniversary of the Founding of Indonesia May 17, 2023

This year marks the 43rd anniversary celebration of the Indonesian National Library. According to the official account of the Indonesian National Library, the theme of the 2023 anniversary of the National Library of Indonesia is “Social Inclusion-Based Library Transformation, Smart Solutions for Community Economic Recovery Post-COVID-19”.

Along with this theme, the National Library has also released a short tape to celebrate the anniversary of the National Library of Indonesia. Here is the official National Library Day 2023 access link to Twibbon for the National Library of Indonesia:

You can also use twibbon and share it to social media like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp. Also post it with different words or captions for the greeting Happy National Library Day 2023!

(wia/imk)