Buku Bergilir puts books into Indonesian hands

TCP-TBWA\ Indonesia has launched an ambitious social project called “Buku Bergilir” (Sharing Books) in Birdie cafe; a popular suburban hangout.

 

The idea was simple... Make books more freely accessible to a wider audience with an innovative ‘open library’ concept powered by the readers themselves.

 

According to the CIA World Factbook, Indonesia has an adult literacy rate of 90.4%, a large local publishing industry and strong public interest in reading. Yet access to books is limited. Public libraries are scarce and though bookshops abound, new book prices put them out of reach to many Indonesians.

 

Another key insight is the fact that many of those who can afford to buy books, especially novels, read them once then leave them on bookshelves to gather dust.

 

The solution;  to encourage people with books they no longer plan to read to liberate them from retirement and donate them to the Buku Bergilir project.

 

A network of book drop-off points will be grown where people can leave their donated books. These shall be identified with a sticker that explains the project and shall then be distributed throughout the Buku Bergilir network.

 

Plans are, that eventually the Buku Bergilir network will expand to include such places as educational institutions, hospitals and clinics, bus and train stations, ferry terminals, domestic airports, even the seat pockets of budget domestic airlines – anywhere people wait and congregate and where a good read would be appreciated.

 

Anyone is welcome to borrow a book to read, take it with him or her,and then when they’re finished, simply return it to any participating location.

 

It’s the first time such a project has been attempted in Indonesia; one reliant on the continuous generosity, participation and honesty of individuals.

 

Social media, primarily Twitter, is a key element of the project. So the movement of books can be monitored and tracked as they travel throughout the nation, people are asked to tweet the book title and location each time a book is donated, borrowed or returned, mentioning @bukubergilir.

 

Information about the Buku Bergilir project, including an instructional video can be found at: www.projeqt.com/bukubergilir

 

In the few days since its launch the project has attracted a positive response on Twitter, and the media, while gaining the support of many book lovers. The collection already numbers hundreds of books and though it’s early days theproject ambitiously hopes to empower readers across the entire Indonesian archipelago.