What is Openboooks?
Initially Openboooks is a name of my library -- actually a family library because the books belong to my father, mother, brother, sister and my son, apart from my own books.
Why is it called Openboooks?
It's because the books are open for everyone to read. Do come to my house to read. They're free. The books are located in various rooms which are all allowed to be entered. The concept is like an open house. Usually when there are ceremonies, people have an open house. Well, I want to have an open house eveyday. But be advised, that my house is just a simple and ordinary house. So don't imagine the atmosphere to be like big libraries or cafes.
Where did the idea of openbooks and open house come from?
For sure, it came from The Mighty Giver of Ideas. God the Most Gracious gives so much grace. Actually, every I own are not really mine. They're all borrowed from God. I want to take good care of all the things that has been handed down to me by way of sharing it to others and at the same time reducing the burderns of others. From years to years the prices of books are relatively high. There are many good books, but not all are affordable. Moreover, I know many people who can not purchase a single book.
If people can enter the house, what if a book or something gets stolen?
I leave that kind of things to God the Seer of All Things. If something gets missing, God's willing, it will be replaced. I believe God will suffice. As I said, all things are just borrowed from God.
Apart from lending, Openbooks also sells books?
Yes. Most books that have been read are available for sale. But there are books that we're reluctant to sell even though we're read them several times. From time to time there are people wanting to buy certain books from the library. Unfortunately we cannot sell the book that are meaningful for us moreover when we have only 1 copy. From a sales point of view, it may be very profitable, especially because they're usually willing to pay high price for old books that are not reprinted. But the consideration, cannot merely be on finance. From financial aspect, I may gain some profit but from a wider perspective, for instance from the aspect of community empowerment, it can be considered as loss since the books can bring benefit for many people.
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Openboooks itu apa?
Openboooks awalnya adalah nama perpustakaan saya -- sebenarnya perpustakaan keluarga karena di sini ada buku-buku bapak, ibu, adik dan anak saya.
Kenapa dinamakan Openboooks?
Karena buku-buku itu terbuka buat dibaca semua orang. Silakan datang ke rumah untuk membaca. Gratis kok. Buku-buku itu terletak di berbagai ruangan yang kesemuanya boleh dimasuki. Konsepnya seperti open house. Biasanya kalau perayaan hari-hari besar, orang-orang sering mengadakan open house. Nah saya ingin bikin open house setiap hari. Tapi mohon maklum, rumah saya adalah rumah biasa dan apa adanya. Jadi jangan dibayangkan suasananya seperti perpustakaan besar atau kafe-kafe.
Ide Openboooks dan open house itu datangnya dari mana?
Datangnya jelas dari Sang Maha Pemberi ide. Tuhan yang Maha Pengasih dan Penyayang memberi begitu banyak anugerah. Semua yang kami miliki sebenarnya 'kan bukan benar-benar milik kami. Semua itu sekedar titipan. Saya ingin merawat titipan itu dengan cara berbagi kepada sesama, sekaligus meringankan sesama. Dari dulu sampai sekarang harga buku masih relatif tinggi. Banyak buku bagus, tapi tidak semuanya bisa terbeli. Bahkan banyak orang yang tidak bisa membeli buku sama sekali.
Kalau orang-orang boleh masuk ke rumah, lalu ada buku atau barang yang dicuri, bagaimana?
Soal itu, saya serahkan semuanya kepada Tuhan yang Maha Melihat. Kalau ada yang hilang, Insya Allah ada gantinya. Saya percaya Tuhan akan tetap mencukupi. Seperti yang saya bilang tadi, semua milik kami hanya titipan.
Selain meminjamkan buku, openboooks juga menjual buku?
Ya. Sebagian besar buku yang sudah dibaca boleh dijual. Tapi ada juga buku yang sudah dibaca berkali-kali namun tidak dijual. Dari waktu ke waktu Ada orang-orang yang ingin beli koleksi buku di perpustakaan. Sayangnya kami tidak menjual buku yang memiliki arti tersendiri buat kami apalagi jika hanya punya 1 eksemplar. Kalau dari sisi penjualan, mungkin menguntungkan, apalagi mereka bersedia bayar mahal untuk buku-buku yang sudah tidak dicetak ulang. Tapi pertimbangannya, tidak bisa semata-mata finansial. Dari segi uang, mungkin untung buat kami, tapi dari segi yang lebih luas, misalnya, dalam hal pemberdayaan masyarakat, malah rugi. Karena buku itu bisa berguna bagi banyak orang.
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