A library is the core of education, providing access to various sources of knowledge for students and the community. However, effective library management requires specific knowledge and skills. Therefore, training in library management for principals, teachers, and librarians is crucial to improve the quality of services and access to quality reading materials for children. On May 29-31, 2023, Taman Bacaan Pelangi organized a workshop on library management. This training activity was conducted online, using the Zoom platform, and attended by approximately 80 participants, including teachers, librarians, and school principals from 20 Taman Bacaan Pelangi partner schools in the Nagekeo district. The aim of this training was to enhance the participants’ knowledge and skills in child-friendly library management.

The workshop commenced with speeches from representatives of Room to Read, the director of Taman Bacaan Pelangi, and the official opening by the Head of the Department of Education and Culture of Nagekeo Regency. Subsequently, the first day of training started with an introduction to the features of child-friendly libraries, topics related to reading habits, creating a book inventory, and understanding book levels by facilitators from Taman Bacaan Pelangi. The participants eagerly took notes on every explanation provided by the facilitators.

On the second and third days, the participants were introduced to methods of displaying child-friendly books, book borrowing procedures, book care, creating library visit schedules, text-rich materials, community involvement, and school action plans. During the training, the participants were not only passive listeners but were also actively encouraged to answer questions in the Zoom chat box and occasionally practice book handling and page flipping techniques. After several intensive days of training, the participants felt happy and satisfied with the new knowledge they acquired. They felt more confident in managing the new libraries in their schools and hoped to provide better services to their students.

Nila Tanzil, Director and Founder of Taman Bacaan Pelangi, stated, “We want all children in Indonesia to enjoy reading and develop reading habits, and this can be achieved by starting from an early age. We believe that when children grow up with a reading habit from an early age, they will consider reading as a necessity when they become adults. Many thanks to Room to Read and the Nagekeo Regency government, especially the Department of Education of Nagekeo Regency, for their cooperation and support for all Taman Bacaan Pelangi programs in Nagekeo Regency.”

In this training, we will learn about library management and, in the future, we will also learn how to make reading enjoyable for students. I became interested in becoming a teacher because I was inspired by my own teacher who often read books aloud in school. I have also witnessed students whom I read stories to, sharing those stories with their classmates. I hope all teachers can actively engage in reading stories to students in school, so that they can be motivated to become better readers in the future,” concluded David Strawbridge, a representative from Room to Read.

Venantius Minggu, Head of the Department of Education and Culture of Nagekeo Regency, stated, “The vision and mission currently being pursued by Taman Bacaan Pelangi and Room to Read align with what we are currently doing in Nagekeo Regency. Schools, as educational institutions, should create a conducive environment to foster interest and reading habits. To produce competitive human resources in the future, we need to prepare our children well, and one of the ways is by establishing child-friendly libraries and understanding the management of such libraries, so that students feel comfortable and can further develop their reading habits.”