Jakarta, MINA – The Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag) of Indonesia and the National Library (Perpusnas) are collaborating to foster and develop mosque libraries to enhance literacy among the Muslim community. This partnership includes book donations, internship programs, certification, competency tests, and support for mosque library accreditation.
Director of Islamic Religious Affairs and Sharia Development at Kemenag, Arsad Hidayat, emphasized the importance of collaboration with Perpusnas in improving the quality of mosque libraries.
“We are implementing a literacy development and recognition program for literacy activists, including mosque library managers, by involving Perpusnas. We are also developing the ELIPSKI platform, which provides digital books and sermon manuscripts. We hope this platform can be integrated with Perpusnas for wider accessibility,” he stated in Jakarta on Friday, as quoted from Kemenag’s official website.
He also highlighted the importance of proper governance for mosque libraries, ensuring they adhere to national regulations and standards for professional management.
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“We hope mosque libraries develop according to standards and provide optimal benefits to the community,” he added.
Nani Suryani, Head of the Public and Special Library Development Center at Perpusnas, affirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation with Kemenag through various strategic programs.
“We have established an MoU and Cooperation Agreement with Kemenag to synchronize ELIPSKI data and collections with mosque libraries and conduct training for mosque library managers,” she explained.
As part of this initiative, Perpusnas will distribute 1,000 book titles to 1,608 mosques, recommended by the Regional Library and Archives Offices across Indonesia.
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“Mosques receiving this assistance will receive further mentoring and support in the library accreditation process,” Nani revealed.
Furthermore, Perpusnas is currently revising its library accreditation standards to accommodate places of worship libraries better.
“Accreditation assessments will no longer be based solely on building size and collection quantity but also on library quality, manager capacity, program innovation, and service effectiveness,” she elaborated.
Additionally, Perpusnas will launch a mosque librarian development program in four regions this year, including workshops and mentoring to enhance the capabilities of mosque library managers.
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Through this collaboration, Kemenag and Perpusnas aim to transform mosque libraries into professional literacy centers that serve the broader community.[]
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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