It is expected to become a gathering place for 'stakeholders' in the field of books, (such as) writers, publishers, readers, and book observers, both offline and online
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Governor of Jakarta Ahmad Riza Patria expects that the Jakarta Literacy House in South Jakarta would become a hub for writers, publishers, and readers of the city.

Patria affirmed that the place was created as a form of utmost appreciation for the reader community in the city.

"It is expected to become a gathering place for 'stakeholders' in the field of books, (such as) writers, publishers, readers, and book observers, both offline and online," Patria noted here on Saturday.

The deputy governor remarked that book publishers must become more adaptive to changing times. He expects that people in the book business would also adapt to the new era, so that the literary world could keep up with the rapid changes in technology.

The founder of the Literacy House, Luqman Hakim Arifin, stated that this literacy house is a forum intended to encourage and strengthen the culture of literacy in Jakarta.

The literacy culture is not only about reading books but also about seeing and understanding all sources of information.

Without adequate literacy skills, people will not be able to face contemporary challenges.

He noted that one of the activities of the Jakarta Literacy House was to collect and review quality books as a reading guide for Jakartans and also Indonesians, through the Jakarta Book Review (JBR).

“JBR is the missing (piece of the) puzzle. Hopefully, its existence would help and advance the development of literacy in Indonesia," he affirmed.

He noted that with quality book reviews, more books and manuscripts are expected to be published, so that readers will become more intelligent and critical as well as push for writers' productivity.

"Hence, this is a kind of online media wherein book reviewers from all over Jakarta and Indonesia can provide reviews of books. This is because if there are no book reviews, we will not know for sure which ones are good and which are not," he concluded.

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Translator: Sihol M H, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Sri Haryati
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