Buying Books
in My Garage
Memories
of an Indonesian Acquisitions Librarian
Andrew Gosling describes his time working for the National Library in
Indonesia
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The
road outside the National
Library’s Jakarta house and office
often flooded in wet weather
Photograph courtesy of Andrew Gosling |
When my wife, two young children and I arrived in Jakarta in July 1979,
the National Library’s office was already well established. George Miller,
later Southeast Asian Librarian at the Australian National University,
had undertaken pilot acquisition projects in the late 1960s before setting
up a permanent presence. He and his successor, Ilse Soegito, who managed
the operation for seven years, were the pioneers who made it possible
for the National Library to develop one of the finest modern Indonesian
research collections in the world.
My first office
in Jakarta was a converted garage. This lay at the back of Jalan Talang
Betutu no. 23, the house allocated to the National Library
of Australia’s representative in Indonesia. It had belonged to the
Australian Embassy for many years and boasted a Hill’s Hoist, a rarity
in Jakarta.
It was pleasant working there and, at the end of each day, closing
up, then walking the 20 paces to the back door of the house to be greeted
by Ibu Emi, our cook, with ‘Tuan pulang’ (‘Sir is home’).
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Map
of Indonesia (Washington, DC:
Central Intelligence Agency, 1998)
Map Collection, G8070 1998 |
The former garage
made a cosy and convenient office and store for hundreds of books,
journals and newspapers, before their dispatch in regular
air consignments to Canberra. Later, the office was moved to join
other Australian
operations in the Citibank Building, opposite the then Australian
Embassy in the capital’s main street, Jalan Thamrin. In the early morning
it
was quite a comfortable 15 minute walk to work before the heat of
the day.
My work depended
on the support of excellent Indonesian staff: Mrs Sri Rumambi, whose
knowledge of the local publishing scene was of
enormous assistance, Mr Bakri and later Mr Sukirdi. Two decades
on, Mr Sukirdi
is still with the National Library, assisting the current Regional
Officer,
Oliver Mann.
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The
National Library’s Jakarta office staff in 1980, in the
front garden of the Library’s house and office at Jalan
Talang Betutu no. 23 (left to right): Mr Sukirdi, Mrs Sri Rumambi
and Andrew Gosling
Photograph courtesy of Andrew Gosling |
While the collection
development policy has been refined over the years, the main aim of
the office has always been to provide the
National
Library with a strong research collection of Indonesian imprints
about the country’s
political, economic, social and cultural life. At the same time,
selected Indonesian books and serials were and are obtained for
the Australian
and overseas libraries participating in the National Library’s
cooperative Indonesian Acquisitions Program.
Naturally, collecting
depends on what is available. During the early 1980s the number, range
and
quality of commercially published Indonesian books improved,
and more bookshops opened in Jakarta, particularly in the large,
modern
shopping
malls which were then starting to appear. Nevertheless most
of what I was obtaining by purchase, gift or on exchange consisted
of items
issued
by government, educational, research and non-government organisations.
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The
Gosling children sitting outside the converted garage/office
(left to right): Katharine, John and David
Photograph courtesy of Andrew Gosling |
Wednesday was
the main buying day. At Jalan Talang Betutu, book suppliers would sit
on
benches under the shade of the
carport.
They sipped
tea, waiting in turn to offer their wares. Most were regulars
and well aware
of the Library’s needs. On one occasion a new supplier, frustrated
that we had rejected all the books he had brought, asked
if the National Library
would be interested in buying soft drinks from him.
Much of my time
was spent out of the office, visiting libraries, bookshops, publishers
and other sources of publications.
To make my rounds, I
relied on Embassy cars or the ubiquitous battered yellow
taxis, whose seats
had long since lost their springs and whose floors were
generally so rusted you could see the road underneath. When we returned
to Australia,
my young daughter Katharine surprised a Sydney cabbie by
asking why there were no holes in the floor of his taxi.
Later on,
once accustomed
to
the hectic Jakarta traffic, we bought our own car for work
and family use.
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The
National Library’s Jakarta office (converted garage) in
1979
Photograph courtesy of Andrew Gosling |
We were in Indonesia
at the height of President Suharto’s New Order. This had replaced President
Sukarno after the
attempted
coup of
1965 and subsequent suppression of the left. The New
Order lasted over
three decades until Suharto’s fall in 1998. The period
was marked by a strong
military role in government, emphasis on economic development
with little popular participation in politics, and
strict controls on
publishing and information.
Censorship was ever-present
but could be clumsy and inconsistent. In August 1980 the author Pramoedya
Ananta
Toer, who had
been imprisoned for 14 years from 1965, published
Bumi Manusia (This
Earth of Mankind),
the first of a quartet of historical novels about
the growth of Indonesian national consciousness under colonial
rule.
This proved
to be a bestseller
and was reissued five times in less than a year,
a most unusual event at that time. The then Vice President,
Adam
Malik,
said that all
Indonesian
school students should read the book to learn about
their history. Nevertheless the Prosecutor General
suddenly banned
Bumi Manusia,
together with its
sequel, on the grounds that they were subtly promoting
prohibited ideologies. The National Library of Australia
had bought
copies and sent them back
to Canberra at the time of publication, well before
the bans.
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Head
of the Maluku Provincial Library, Mr Saleky, and his daughter
at the Ambon War Cemetery on 16 June 1982. Many Australians and
others who died in eastern Indonesia during the Second World
War are buried here
Photograph courtesy of Andrew Gosling |
On occasions, I
made acquisition trips to other parts of the country. This required
preparations such as
arranging
to visit
government
offices, universities and other centres. It was
important to make such visits
outside the capital, as many regional publications
were unavailable in Jakarta, a situation which
continues to
this day.
For example, in
June 1982 I spent 10 days in eastern Indonesia. The island of Ambon
in Maluku or the
Moluccas was one of
the original Spice Islands,
famous for its cloves, and a prize sought by
several European powers in the early colonial period. In
the 1980s, the
island was an attractive
if poorly developed backwater. There were only
six passengers on the small plane which took
me there.
The road around
the bay from
the airport
to the city of Ambon wound past thickly forested
hills with sago palms and clove trees, traditional
palm-thatched
wooden
houses
and
outrigger
canoes along the shore.
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The
back of the National Library’s Jakarta house as seen from
the office, 1981
Photograph courtesy of Andrew Gosling |
As with some other
smaller regional towns, Ambon had no real bookshops or commercial publishers.
The main
sources
of publications
were
Pattimura University, built with Russian aid
many years earlier and badly in
need of repairs, the Museum Siwalima, the provincial
library and government bodies such as the regional
development
and census and
statistics offices.
The latter, I recall, was particularly hard
to
find, perched high on a wooded hill above the
town, with
wonderful views
across the
island.
There, and everywhere else I travelled, people
were friendly and helpful. For example, the
head of the
provincial library,
Mr Saleky,
whom I
had
met earlier at library conferences, took me
to see the beautifully kept war cemetery for Australians
and others
who died in
eastern Indonesia as prisoners of war or fighting
Japanese forces during
the Second World
War.
The two other cities
I visited were on Sulawesi, formerly known as Celebes. Said to resemble
a starfish, this
mountainous island
straddles
the equator east of Kalimantan (Indonesian
Borneo).
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Mr
Paul Permadi (left) and the late Mr Nurhadi (centre) of the National
Library of Indonesia with Andrew Gosling at the Australian Embassy
Library in Jakarta, prior to undertaking their training at the
National Library of Australia. Mr Permadi later became Deputy
Director of the National Library of Indonesia
Photograph courtesy of Andrew Gosling |
My three days in
Manado proved fruitful. The capital of North Sulawesi appeared more
prosperous
than
Ambon and
had several
bookshops.
With a letter of recommendation from the
Governor’s office, I was able
to obtain
a considerable number of publications from
government bodies as well as Sam Ratulangi
University, Manado
Teachers’ College
and
the provincial
library. To make my rounds, I hired a Suzuki
van for the equivalent of only three dollars
an hour.
The driver,
Sonny,
was a cheerful
young man,
but he insisted on playing the same monotonous
pop cassette over and over again. Finally,
as they were
too heavy to
carry in my
luggage, I sent all the books from Ambon
and Manado by courier service back
to Jakarta
for about 50 dollars.
My final destination
was the capital of South Sulawesi, Ujung Pandang, which is
better
known as Makassar.
As always, people
were most
helpful and I acquired many publications
from bookshops, government and educational
bodies. For example, the Director of
the Ujung
Pandang Teachers’ College, Mr Abdul Hamid
Rasyid, not only
presented a large
number of items for
the National Library but he also kindly
drove me to other locations including
Hasanuddin University. Australian
academics
had been
on attachment there
for some time, and I met the current
Australian lecturer, Dr Jacquie Lineton, who also
helped
me
in tracing
suitable local
books. The
connection with Australia was also emphasised
by the eucalypts and wattles growing
at the new Hasanuddin campus.
My brief in Indonesia
was broader than just acquisitions and involved an active
liaison
role. This included
frequent contact
with Indonesian
libraries on various issues, including
exchanges of publications, staff training
in Australia
and other
development assistance.
In particular,
I was in frequent contact with the
National Library of Indonesia, formally established
in 1980 and
led by its
distinguished
first Director, Miss
Mastini Hardjoprakoso, and the National
Science Documentation Centre, under
its dynamic head,
the late Miss Luwarsih
Pringgoadisurjo. Other duties included
representing Australia at library conferences
and
meetings and helping visiting Australian
scholars and librarians.
One task I particularly
enjoyed was giving annual lectures about Australian
government
publications
to library
students at the
University of Indonesia.
This certainly forced me to brush
up my own knowledge of the subject. The
first
year
I spoke on campus,
but later
arranged
for the students
to come to the Australian Embassy
Library where they could make use of actual
examples.
Living and working
in Jakarta was a rewarding experience, professionally
and personally.
There was great
job satisfaction in seeking
out books and journals for the
National Library’s collections, while
travelling
in this richly varied land, from
Aceh
at the northern tip of Sumatra
to Ambon in
the east.
I met some
remarkable individuals, including
dedicated local librarians who
were improving library services
across the archipelago.
Probably my strongest overall memory
is of ordinary Indonesians living
with dignity
and good humour
without the opportunities
and financial
security we tend to take for granted.
After four years
overseas I returned to the National Library in late
1983. It was
in
the days of the
public service
tea trolley. On my
first morning back, Maria the
tea lady greeted me cheerfully with,
‘You’ve
been away for a while. Do you
still take white tea, no sugar?’
Andrew Gosling was Indonesian Acquisitions Librarian in Jakarta from
1979 to 1983 and Chief Librarian, Asian Collections, from 1985 to early
2003. He has written extensively about Asian collections and services
in Australia
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