Fun to Read and Watching at Digital Library
The activity in the digital library
In order to increase the reading interest of children in the assisted areas, Wahana Visi Indonesia (WVI) Area Program of Bengkayang holds assistance to several village libraries through Gift Catalogue campaign named “Let’s Go to Library”. Through this activity, it is expected that the village government and the community, especially the parents, will support efforts to increase children's reading interest in Sungai Betung Sub-district, Bengkayang District.
The lack of reading interest and other supporting media in the village library makes the number of visitors to children in village libraries has continued to decline. This is still a challenge in implementing the program. One of them happened in Suka Maju Village, where books in the village library were mostly damaged because they were submerged by water and many were lost when floods hit Suka Maju Village a few years ago.
Seeing this phenomenon and the development of technology in the community, WVI and the government of Suka Maju Village and Suka Bangun Village collaborated with Bina Nusantara University to develop a digital library. Digital libraries in Suka Maju and Suka Bangun Villages were developed by a team from Bina Nusantara University.
In addition to installing digital library packages, the Bina Nusantara University team also conducted training for library managers and simulated digital library use by children and parents in Desa Suka Maju and Suka Bangun.
"I am happy to be able to use the digital library because there are many storybooks and videos. I can also watch films about history and also animations. Even though I can't use a computer, I'm always assisted by a library officer, "said Dirly (8), one of the children who helped access the facilities in the digital library.
Tarida Uli Sitompul as the library manager said, now more and more children are coming to use facilities in the digital library. He even participated in conducting basic training on how to use computers for children, so they could easily enjoy the facilities available.
"My dream with this digital library is that the interest in reading children in my village is getting higher and can help them learn," he concluded.
Written by: Yan Adrianus Riwu, CESP Coordinator of Bengkayang Area Program Wahana Visi Indonesia