Nadhif and Mellia visit Radyapustaka, Manuscript library in Surakarta. They learn how to preserve old manuscript with natural ingredients
My name is Mellia Irawati, and I was born in Gembong Village, Pati, Indonesia, which is nestled on the slopes of Mount Muria. I currently work as a teacher at Joglo Kindergarten – Rumah Damai. In 2023, I joined Peace Place with the goal of contributing to the growth of peace education. I am actively involved in the Joglo Library, where I help develop activities and programs.
Since childhood, I’ve always believed that peace is the cornerstone of education. Growing up in my village, I saw how values like mutual cooperation and living harmoniously created an environment that nurtured children’s development. This experience sparked my passion for peace education, and I believe that one effective way to promote this is through children’s books.
To that end, I’ve studied how to choose the right books and classify them for children. Every day, I invite the kids at Joglo to read and ask them questions related to the stories they’ve read. This helps them understand the story better. Every Friday, we host reading activities and allow the children to borrow books, which introduces them to the world of libraries.
We’re fortunate that our library recently received a generous donation of 1,000 new books from the National Library’s quality book donation program. This influx of new books has inspired us to learn more about how to better manage and organize our collection. While the Joglo Library isn’t large, we strive to create a welcoming and comfortable space for our visitors. We focus on organizing books by developmental level, genre, and themes that promote peace and justice.
During the semester break, my friend Nadhif, who’s also active at Joglo Library, and I visited several libraries in Solo and Yogyakarta. This trip gave us valuable insights into library management. We visited a mix of professionally run libraries and independent community-run reading spaces.
Our first stop was the Ganesa Library, a professionally managed private library. It has two main rooms: one dedicated to children’s books and another for adults and general readers. In the children’s section, we saw books classified by age group, including early readers (0 to kindergarten) and elementary school-age readers. We also had a great conversation with the director of Ganesa Library about their book management practices.
Ratih, Nadhif, and Mellia visit Ganesa Library. They learn how to organize children books
Next, we visited the Teras Kita Reading Park, managed by a woman named Dyah. Here, I learned that children’s books can do more than just tell stories – they can also inspire creative activities, like introducing traditional snacks or making toys based on the books. This reminded me that libraries are not just places to read, but spaces to create and spark imagination.
On the second day, we visited Grahatama Pustaka Yogyakarta, the public library of the Special Region of Yogyakarta. It has a remarkable children’s section, featuring spaces like a fun reading room, a storytelling room, a music room, a playground, and an audiovisual room. This was my first time visiting a library so child-friendly, and it inspired me to create a similar space at Joglo Library.
We also stopped by Toko Gumi (Guru Bumi), a bookstore that also publishes children’s books and toys. Gumi’s mission is to foster a literacy-rich environment for children and families. Next to the store, there’s a reading room that also serves as a gathering space for the learning community. It was inspiring to see how the community collaborates with authors, illustrators, scientists, and literacy professionals to organize educational events.
On our final day in Solo, we visited the Radya Pustaka Museum in Surakarta, home to many old books and manuscripts. I learned how to care for these valuable items, particularly manuscripts, to preserve them for future generations. The museum staff uses local wisdom in their preservation efforts, which gave me new ideas for caring for the collection at Joglo Library.
This journey to various libraries has been incredibly eye-opening. The passion of the librarians we met reassured me that, even though I don’t have formal education in library science, I can still help develop Joglo Library. I’ve learned that focusing on the right book classification and continuously learning from other librarians is the key to improving our library.
With every visit and lesson, I’m more convinced that peace education is vital for creating a better future. Through my efforts at Joglo Library, I hope to instill the values of peace in children and our community, empowering them to become a generation that brings about positive change in society.