UGM librarians secured 2nd place in the Indonesia Digital Library Conference (KPDI) held from August 9 to 12, 2023, at Atria Hotel, Malang.
This annual event, now in its 14th year, carries the theme “Building the Future through Digital Preservation of Indonesian Local Knowledge (Culture, Knowledge, and Learning).”
The competition for the best presenter was one of the activities following the submission phase, where 90 participants competed through a Call for Paper selection. The next stage involved the presentation of the top 20 selected papers, which reviewers evaluated.
UGM librarians submitted a paper titled “Promotion Strategy for the Ancient Javanese Manuscripts ‘Jalu Lan Wanita’ Collection at UGM Library,” authored by Nova Indah Wijayanti and Yuli Hesti Wahyuningsih.
The paper wanted to highlight the ancient manuscripts owned by UGM Library for utilization and cultural preservation.
Jalu Lan Wanita is a segment of the ancient Javanese manuscripts collection donated by UGM alumnus Koko Widayatmoko from the Faculty of Engineering.
The collection, consisting of 2,886 manuscripts, was transferred from a private collection to UGM Library in 2016. Ancient Javanese Manuscripts are part of the library’s rare collection and can be accessed through langka.lib.ugm.ac.id.
Since 2016, ancient Javanese manuscripts have not been adequately exposed, with promotion mainly limited to rare collection exhibitions on the library’s third floor.
Efforts have been centered on preservation and digitization through website uploads, but there hasn’t been much exposure or review.
The Javanese manuscript “Jalu Lan Wanita” is hoped to ignite the interest of researchers, ranging from undergraduate to postgraduate students.
The manuscript, published by Balai Pustaka in 1930, and authored by Partasewaja, consists of 151 stanzas in 5 parts.
Jalu Lan Wanita narrates the story of a husband and wife facing financial problems, with the husband requesting permission from his wife to remarry. The wife communicates and dialogues to find the best solution.
Preparation for the competition began a month earlier, involving data collection through interviews and submission a week before the closing date. Nova Indah Wijayanti hopes the collection of ancient Javanese manuscripts at UGM Library will increase in quantity, making them accessible to students and the public.
Additionally, she hopes qualitatively, these manuscripts will offer valuable wisdom to society. The goal is to move beyond quantitative access to understand the content’s depth.
“I have an idea to review the content of the ancient Javanese manuscripts involving professors specializing in Javanese Literature. We plan to create a video on YouTube with one person reading the manuscript while another person translates, accompanied by Javanese music. I hope other librarians will achieve national and international recognition, further enhancing the reputation and progress of UGM librarians,” she stated on Tuesday (8/15).
Author: Rifai