“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.”  (Jorge Luis Borges)

As citizents of Jakarta, most of us nowadays love to hang out at cafes and malls, but some people prefer to choose public library for spending their leisure time, reading some good quality books or studying and doing research.

Fortunately, this city has provided us with some public libraries, There’s a misperception among people in Jakarta that a library is an uncomfortable, boring and spooky place, where dusty old books are scattered everywhere. actually some of them are in very good condition with great facilities, excellent services, and also have exciting regular events.

One of most recommended library which is located at the central business district area of Jakarta is Perpustakaan Diknas or Ministry of Education and Cultural Library, after the library got help from British Council, now it has various collection of books, new management and nice facilities.

Diknas library located at the main building in Departement Pendidikan Nasional, at the first floor of library there are some space to read magazines and newspapers, and at the second floor there’s the main library, the room is very nice and comfortable with severals cozy couches and chairs so visitors and members of library can enjoy reading their favorite books, journals or other publications. and off course the area is equipped with air condition, public wifi, free mineral waters for refreshment. With all those luxuries, I bet every book lovers would love to spend hours in this library.

I was very amazed with the various collection of books in here, I can find easily the famous classic non-fiction collections to modern famous collections such as Harry Potter and Twilight Saga. Thanks to British Council, this library now has many english famous book collections, nevertheless you can find complete collections of Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s publications in Bahasa and English in here.

The best thing about public library is they are free for everything, so if you’re not a member of this library then you’re welcome to enjoy reading books in the library, however if you want to borrow some books then you have to be a member of this library, the membership also free for every Jakarta citizents, all you need is to show the librarian your ID, and they will process your membership for about a week. and off course they won’t charge you anything for borrowing their book collections.

for more info about Perpustakaan DIknas, go to http://perpustakaan.kemdiknas.go.id/perpusdiknas/

address of Perpustakaamn Diknas :

Kementerian Pendidikan Nasional Republik Indonesia

Gedung A Lantai 1 dan Mezanin

Jl. Jenderal Sudirman, Senayan – Jakarta

Indonesia, 10270

Telp. +6221 5707870

Fax.  +6221 5731228

Email: perpustakaan@kemdiknas.go.id

Another great public library that must visit is Perpustakaan Umum Daerah DKI Jaya, which is located at Kuningan, Jakarta Selatan, just behind Pasar Festival plaza. the good thing about this public library, not only it has great facilities such as various collection of books, internet and wifi, but it also open at Sunday.

I personally love to spend my weekend at this lovely library for hours, and most of it, this public library has a great facilities for children, they provided with many collection of children’s books in a separate comfy room, so no wonder during weekend we can see many children hang out in this library, chatting with their friends. browsing internet, watching some videos, and off course, reading books.

and here’s the address of Perpustakaan Umum Daerah DKI : Gedung Nyi Ageng Serang Lt. VII-VIII, Jl. Rasuna Said kav. C22, Jakarta Selatan

Another great and famous public library with modern interiors is Perpustakaan Freedom Institute, it located at Freedom Institute, nearby Tugu Proklamasi, Menteng. in here you can find many collection of books, magazines and journals. and sometimes you can find many events held in this library.

for more info go to http://www.freedom-institute.org/id/index.php?page=perpus

and off course, there is National Library or Perpustakaan Nasional in Jakarta, for more info about this library you can go to http://www.pnri.go.id/

All and all, if you ever wonder where to go during weekend, perhaps you should give a try to visit those public libraries, with all those great and free facilities every book lovers will feel like in heaven