IN THE MOULD OF OODI
DID the news of Oodi, a gift of a library for the people of Finland to mark its 100 years of independence, reach Malaysia? To what extent do university communities view Oodi as an exceptional and significant place? And why should they?
Oodi is not just another centre such as a shopping mall or an entertainment hub for people to hang out without a reason. It is a public library in Helsinki that took 20 years of planning.
Launched on Dec 5, 2018, Oodi is a new era library that sets new standards for public libraries around the world.
If Oodi is the pride of Finland, the world’s most literate nation, Kuala Lumpur is just as great. After Athens, Greece (2018) and Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (2019), Kuala Lumpur has been named World Book Capital for the year 2020 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.
The question is: Are we proud of the news? If Kuala Lumpur was selected because of the city’s focus on inclusive education; its ongoing development of a knowledge-based society; and its population’s easy access to reading materials, as Malaysians, are we proud of the status?
Whether we realise it or not, the status is in tandem with the efforts of the Education Ministry as the Education Minister has launched Dekad Bahasa Kebangsaan (National Language Decade) 2021-2030, a 10-year reading programme. Giving a fresh breath to the aspiration, the Cabinet in a meeting on June 27, 2018 decided on a National Reading Campaign start- ing from last year till 2020 in an effort to prepare Malaysia to become the country which reads the most by 2030.
Universities have a similar programme, Read@Uni, themed With Knowledge We Lead, a synergy between the Higher Education Department of the Education Ministry in collaboration with the Public Universities’ Heads of Librarian Committee. No doubt, this effort will result in a reading society of different backgrounds and geographic boundaries.
While a book can be a companion wherever you are, a few factors in relation to books need serious and in-depth attention.
Firstly, each university has its own library and some brand it as a knowledge centre and/or information service centre. There are also universities which have more than one main library. Some divide them according to fields or levels of study. Huge financial sources are channelled to build a conducive space, and add to the collection as well as improve services. The expansion of the digital world also makes access to the library border-less.
However, the expansion also affects reading and library habits at universities with dwindling numbers of physical books borrowed each year. Some say the low numbers are the result of the preference for electronic books, but how far is this true?
If this is so, the library at the university operates at a huge cost. There is a need to reexamine if the location of a library is attractive for students. Perhaps, the concept of future libraries can be inspired by Oodi. We must move away from the usual practice of “no noise” at the library.
A student-friendly library must be realised so that it can function as a second home or a one-stop centre for students. This is much better than students returning to their hostels in between lectures and usually ending up with catching up on sleep rather than reading.
It is important to note that the learning habit among university students today is not similar to what it used to be. Today’s generation of students tend to prefer simplified content and those that they can refer to online. It does not help that some lecturers’ notes are presented only via slides. Students will only refer to these slides as reference which are later marked with different ink colours to show that they have read them.
Reference books and articles from journals are now less important. Undergraduates do not read books for reference and prefer notes and content based on examination questions.
It is vital that assignments and course projects be based on real and complex problemsolving. They must not be something that students can just complete by getting the solutions from the Internet or solution manual of textbooks. The topic must make them rely on reading that develops thinking skills to get the proposed solutions.
If the assignments and projects are recycled topics, students will be the happiest as they can get the information and data for the answers online. If this practice continues, will the agenda to produce a reading society become a reality? It is more critical at the tertiary level when students should eat, sleep and breathe books.
Universities must also review their reading activities for students. If activities such as reading and essay-writing competitions are conducted in schools, the same is needed at universities. The only difference is the level and depth of these activities.
However, activities such as intellectual discourse, essay-writing and book reviews are now less common at universities. If there are such activities, only the same people attend the events. Debate skills, for instance, require in-depth reading and not just the ability to rebut opponents. Debaters must do research and possess analytical skills. The skills can only be achieved through reading. It is the same for essay-writing, which many students label as “an activity for nerds”. Their thinking is: “We need to complete our assignments, we do not need more activities that require us to use our brains.”
As a result, graduates, books and reading habits are liken to preparing the famous local dish of Ikan Tiga Rasa that has a balanced mix of sourness, sweetness and saltiness. Do we call ourselves university graduates if our thinking capacity is only limited to completing assignments and passing examinations?
News on Oodi, Dekad Bahasa Kebangsaan and KL Baca — Caring Through Reading are far reaching. We should be worried that with the ubiquitous smartphones, reading activities include only e-books (as print books are heavier). More time is spent reading only news headlines and writing comments on social media and maybe talking to oneself while recording one’s life diary.
Iqra’ means “read”. It is the source of knowledge and the pathway.
This is a translation of the article titled Oodi,
Mahasiswa, Buku & Membaca by Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia deputy vice-chancellor (student affairs and alumni)
Iqra’ means ‘read’. It is the source of knowledge and the pathway.