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Abiyoso Center's Contribution to American Literacy

  • Abiyoso Center's Contribution to American Literacy
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Writer :
Sentra Abiyoso Cimahi
Editor :
Intan Qonita N
Translator :
Karlina Irsalyana

CIMAHI (June 15, 2022) - Abiyoso Center received a visit from representatives of the Library of Congress (LC), United States, on June 14-15, 2022. This visit aims to collect publications from all over the world to meet the needs of LC readers from various backgrounds, including people with visual sensory disabilities.

 

"Indonesian-language books are very much needed by Americans, both within and outside America, whose first language is Indonesian," said Nina Kania Dewi, Acquisitions Southeast Asia Regional Office, Library of Congress.

 

LC is an international institution headquartered in Washington D.C. It has the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled. This service provides reading materials that can be easily accessed by users who have reading disabilities, such as people with total or low vision and dyslexia.

 

So far, there are six main LC branch offices in various global regions. Apart from Jakarta (Indonesia), the other five are located in New Delhi (India), Nairobi (Kenya), Islamabad (Pakistan), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), and Cairo (Egypt). Each of these offices has agents in the countries in their respective regional areas.

 

The library, which was founded in 1800, is still the largest in the world. They collaborate with similar institutions around the world through the Cooperative Acquisitions Program. Now more than 173 million collections are owned by LC. Thanks to collaborations with institutions outside the United States, about half of the collection is in a language other than English.

 

Representing the Head of the Abiyoso Center, Agung Hendrawan, the Head of the Administrative Subdivision of the Abiyoso Center, A. Heri Kusumawardhana expressed his gratitude for the visit of the Library of Congress. "This is a form of concern for the need for braille books, which of course are very useful for people with visual impairments."

On this occasion, Nina conveyed a very deep impression of the work of MoSA through the Abiyoso Center in terms of producing and providing braille books. "We have to remember, there are still many people with visual impairments who need information and accessible reading materials, especially in braille format. Not only in Indonesia, but also in America, which incidentally is a developed country, braille is still very much needed and popular."

Nina also highly appreciates what MoSA has carried out through the Abiyoso Center so far, namely providing reading/writing services for people with disabilities. "This is indeed correct. The government is of course the 'first' party that is obliged to fulfill, guarantee, and protect the rights of every citizen, including persons with disabilities," he continued. Therefore, he hopes that the work of this institution will continue, even with innovations that continue to follow the times.

The Ministry of Social Affairs, especially the Abiyoso Center, should be proud of this collaboration. According to Nina, this institution is still the only contributor to braille books and audiobooks from Indonesia for LC.

"We are very proud that Abiyoso's books, both braille, and audio, can be compared with other quality books from around the world in such a prestigious place," added Heri.

Furthermore, the collected books will be sent directly to Washington D.C. Once again, MoSA shows its commitment to serving people with disabilities, even this time to the international level through the contribution of the Abiyoso Center in literacy.
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