As an effort to build an understanding of the role of the American Corner in Indonesia, the Annual Conference of American Corners Indonesia in 2010 has taken place for three days from 20 to 22 July, 2010. The conference held in Yogyakarta was attended by representatives of 11 American Corners throughout Indonesia.
Drs. Djoko Moerdijanto, MA, Executive Secretary, representing the Rector of UGM, welcomed the conference especially for the various contributions of American Corner that have been done so far, particularly as a center of information and outreach program.
To the Directors and Assistant Directors of the American Corners and Rebecca McDuff (IRO-Information Resources Officer - Asia Pacific), Djoko revealed that the history of American Corner UGM library is slightly different from that of the the American Corner at other universities. The start of the American Corner UGM began with US Visiting Professor and Fulbright's book collections in the late 1980s. In the year 2004, a cooperation with the United States Embassy in Jakarta was established to develop the collections under the name of American Corner. "American Corner UGM has been named the best in the administration of programs and reporting during the 2007-2009," Djoko said.
Up to now, there are 11 American Corners having been established in Indonesia as a result of cooperation between the Public Affairs Section of U.S. Embassy Jakarta with several universities in Indonesia.
As an information center, American Corner provides access to the latest and reliable information about the United States through the collection of books, the Internet and programs. Therefore, the annual conference has become an important moment for the managers of American Corner in order to share ideas and strategies for the creation and planning of the program next year.
Drs. Ida Fajar Priyanto, M.A., Head of UGM Library, on the sidelines of the forum confirmed that the annual conference is the momentum for the librarians to know the latest information and US policy. Besides, they can also learn about the development of librarianship in USA. "The last day of the conference on July 22, 2010 will be spent with a Digital Video Conference at the American Corner UGM Library, presenting speaker Don Q. Washington (Country Public Affairs Officer) of the United States Embassy Jakarta," she said.