With stunning architecture, and great collection of books.
Bank Indonesia Library in Surabaya is one of my favorite place to work from. It’s located in South Surabaya, in a beautiful old building. From the outside, the library building looks very artistic. From what I read, this building was built in 1921 by a Dutch architectural bureau in Surabaya, with a typical Dutch architectural building model.
According to this article, the building used to be the official residence of De Javasche Bank (which changed its name to Bank Indonesia in 1953). Before being used as the Bank Indonesia library, this building was the location of the Mpu Tantular Museum.
There's a mini park across from this library, and the library area itself is surrounded by green scenery. Stepping into this library always feels so peaceful. Its free to enter, there’s even no parking fee. No wonder why this place is chosen by many people to work from.
After we entering the library, we have to fill out an online check-in form. And that’s it, we can put our bag in the lockers provided, then find the space we prefer.
Since it used to be a house, the layout of Bank Indonesia library is slightly different from any library I’ve ever visited. The layout is not a whole open space with several desk, but it’s almost like we step into a house with several rooms that adjust their functions and needs for visitor.
After we pass the front office and locker area, the first space is like a living room where a cozy sofa is placed in the corner with a small table in the middle. I never checked what kind of book collection in this specific space, because everything looks very thick and big. Maybe there are documents archive or something like that, I’m not really sure.
The next room is where the main bookshelves are located. There’s also a sofa at the corner that can be used by visitors. The book collection is not that much if we compare it to other libraries, but the selection is pretty good. I remember finding a Harry Potter book with a special edition cover in this library (yes yes, all I checked were fictional books😅)
No, I mean even though this library is managed by Bank Indonesia, the book collection is not all about finance and economic literature. This library also offers a variety of other books like fiction, poetry collections, and such.
The hallway also has more sofas. For me personally, the sofas in this library are quite comfortable. And there are some individual sofas if we don’t really want to close to other visitors and want some privacy. The interior of this area is also very beautiful. There are beautiful glass designs on the wall. There are also some decorative touches such as old bicycles that were widely used by people in the past, and some historical posters with an old-time atmosphere.
Next up is the room I’ve been to the most over these past few months. It’s the computer room. I didn’t manage to capture it good enough because usually there are people around, but this space has over 10 computers that open for public use. I'm not kidding when I say that this room has been a lifesaver for my work-related stuff. Since my laptop is getting slower, I rely on this public computer to do my graphic design tasks.
Spending most of my time there when I’m in this library, I notice familiar faces coming in every few days. From a group of kids, to a teenager who look a little mentally challenged that always comes with his lovely mom, to elderly who spend their time watching many kind of youtube videos.
I mean, this place might be a safety space for some people who need it the most–I’m not only talking about the computers, but the library as a place besides home and school/work that can be visited for free is very important in this day and age.
The main working space is this hall, has two fairly large tables with four chairs at each table. Provided with power outlets as well, this space is almost always full around noon. People are working on their laptops comfortably, because the chairs are also quite good. Oh, and I can’t forget to mention that the air freshener smells very good in this area. To me, it smells like a cozy and inviting coffee, which adds something else to the atmosphere itself.
In the middle of the room, there’s a carpet on the floor with some pillows provided for visitor who want to occupy it. At first I thought only people who didn’t get any space that are interested working there. But even when there are still an empty space in other room, some people choose that space on the floor to relax and hang out.
The next room, I’m pretty sure it’s actually for children, because the space is so colorful and fun. There is a collection of children’s books as well. But when there were so many visitors, it seems like nowadays the space is mostly filled with adults doing their work. I still see a group of kids hanging out in this room once in a while. So it seems like they share the space fairly with the adults😂
The last section is this one, an open space that is also has a carpet on the floor, but has a table in the middle of it. When I first visited this library a few years ago, I thought this area was the most interesting to me because of the miniature red London telephone🤣
Back when I was much younger, I was always interested in finding something that looked like it was from abroad, so this area is really appealed to me. I only work from this space when all of the other rooms are full, because I don’t think it’s comfortable enough to work.
Unfortunately, this library doesn’t allow visitors to borrow books to take home. But they have a digital collection and provide ebook versions that can be accessed by visitors, so it’s easier for us to access books and information anytime and anywhere. Beside that, the Bank Indonesia library also consistently holds activities such as seminars, workshops, discussions, and collaborate with other communities.
Earlier I write that libraries are important besides home and school/work, because they can be a third place for many people. Nowadays, we rarely have access to places that are free or don’t feel intimidating to visit, so I really hope libraries can survive to provide that kind of function for many people, especially younger generation including myself.
That’s all for today’s Library Trip, upvote and reblog are appreciated so that hopefully I can keep up with this series. Thankyou for reading as always, have a great day! :)
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