"Not only do people use smartphones to build friendship or togetherness, but make it access to information," head of the National Library, Muhammad Syarif Bando, said here on Wednesday.
According to him, increasing digital literacy is important so that the public and students can use social media positively.
"Amid the digital era, we have big hopes that students will be at the forefront of strengthening Indonesian education because they have great digital literacy," he said.
To achieve this, regional education offices, as the main stakeholders, have a huge responsibility to educate students so that they can develop an interactive mindset, he added.
"Teachers can use these digital books as a digital literacy (teaching and learning) guide for teachers and students," he said.
He informed that the National Library is striving to implement strategies to increase public interest in reading by providing libraries and digital books.
"Libraries should be the most comfortable place to read. We are also preparing digital books to reach readers," he said.
Earlier on March 20, 2023, at the Literacy Festival in Lampung, Bando launched 15 million digital books that can be accessed by the public for free.
The provision of 15 million digital books was part of efforts to bridge a shortage of books.
"Our problem, for years, has been the shortage of books," he said.
According to him, the book-to-population ratio in Indonesia is 90:1. That means 1 book has to be shared by 90 people due to the lack of availability of books.
He said that the number is far below UNESCO standards, which prescribe that one person read at least three new books annually.
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Translator: Agustina J, Kenzu
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2023
