Visitors choose books at the "Big Bad Wolf" Book Exhibition at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition, BSD City, Tangerang, Banten, on Friday, April 21. The exhibition was held until May 2, and offered 5 million books, mostly imported, at discounts of up to 80 percent.
The low level of literacy being discussed at present is not only related to electronic and digital technology, but also to print.
Print, electronic and digital media should complement each other, but in reality they do not. In Indonesia, and the world generally, it was thought that the print media would not die. In reality, however, print has seen a dramatic drop in consumption and popularity. Information is no longer obtained only through print, but also through electronic (television and radio) and digital formats (social media and others). While the three, in theory, should cooperate to share content, in reality they undermine each other.
The commemoration of National Book Day was designed to celebrate the inauguration of the National Library on May 17, 1980. The objective was to increase interest in reading, and the publishing industry. In today’s context this includes not only books in printed form, but also electronic books (e-books). It is assumed the two forms of book publishing can complement each other to develop reading interest, preserve the nations reading culture and simultaneously increase the literacy rate of citizens.
The number of publishers, titles, and copies of published books is a measure of a nation’s progress. In the past the weak publishing industry was explained by the lack of knowledge being produced. However, now that situation is being exacerbated by rise of non-print media, which has seen a tendency toward decreasing seriousness and depth.
In 2015, the Indonesian Publishers Association (Ikapi) had more than 1,200 members. In the same year, there were more than 70 million Internet users in Indonesia, about 28.3 percent of the population. Facebook users reached over 50 million people. This is a global trend. A 2011 UNESCO survey showed only one in 1,000 Indonesian people had a serious interest in reading. In March 2016, an international survey showed Indonesia was ranked 60th from 61 of countries surveyed, above only Botswana.
There have been numerous efforts by the Indonesian government to increase literacy, but they have not addressed a crucial factor holding back the publishing industry. The Law on the Publishing System, which was enacted last April, still maintains a 10 percent levy on sales of print media. The tax has been abolished for educational books and scriptures.
It means efforts to make books cheap and evenly distributed may only be political discourse. In this light, tax reduction is the best hope for the publishing industry and the nation\'s intellectual development as "books are windows to the world."
