TEMPO.CO, Yogyakarta - Books could be seen neatly arranged on a glass shelf. At a glance, it seemed as if they were all written in English without a single sign of an Indonesian book. There was Mortals by Norman Rush,The Smiling General by OG Roeder, Shark Dialogues by Kiana Davenport, Caprice and Rondo by Dorothy Dunnet, and Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier. Yet in between, an Indonesian book about the art of Sundanese dance entitled Menengok Jagat Tari Sunda managed to catch the eye.
This cozy library is located to the left of a small garden at Dusun Jogja Village Inn. Unlike most hotels in Yogyakarta, this place provides its guests with a comfortable library. Its books can be read in the library, borrowed by hotel guests, or even traded in for another book owned by the customer.
Initially, the hotel’s owner Paul Amron Yuwono placed a few of his books in the corner of the lobby. After a while, the books started to pile up resulting in him creating a special corner for these books and guests to read. After 16 years in business, the library now has hundreds of books, of which some were even donated by the hotel’s guests.
Kuncoro, an employee at the hotel, said that a person does not need to be a guest at the hotel in order to borrow a book. Just sign in their personal details and any book is free to check out.
ANANG ZAKARIA
