Head of the National Library Muhammad Syarif Bando has urged Pariaman city, West Sumatra, to produce books on local culture, potential natural wealth, and regional tourism.

“Everything must be written down and shared with the international world through the library,” he said after attending the groundbreaking event for the construction of a library and the Madam Literacy inauguration here on Wednesday.

Pariaman city must have books that provide information about the region and inform the world about the city’s wealth, which can have a positive impact on the region, he explained.

Bando also lauded the Pariaman city government, which has committed to producing and improving local books.

He said that nowadays, a library is not only a place to store physical and digital books but also a training place for business actors.

“Training on production is carried out in the library because it has applied science books that can be used by the community,” he added.

Furthermore, he expressed gratitude to the Pariaman administration and residents for the initiative to implement the President’s National Medium-Term Development Plan, or RPJMN, especially in relation to human resource development through libraries.

A budget of Rp10 billion has been allocated for the physical aspects of the library. Meanwhile, the Pariaman city government can propose a budget of Rp1 billion for information technology, book collections, and furniture.

Pariaman Mayor Genius Umar said his administration has created a book on Minangkabau culture and arts to teach local students about the subject.

“We already have the team writing the book and the book already exists, but we are going to revise it back to put it in the library so it is accessible nationwide,” he informed.

Earlier, the National Library funded a library construction in Pariaman with a budget of Rp10 billion. The construction will begin in January 2023 and is targeted to be completed by August 2023.

Source: Antara News