PORTALJABAR, BEKASI REGENCY - Residents of Bekasi Regency can now access hundreds of digital book collections for free through the Digital Reading Corner (Pocadi) at the Gedung Juang Museum, Setiadarma Village, Tambun Selatan District. This service, offered by the Bekasi Regency Archives and Library Service (Disarpus) in collaboration with the National Library (Perpusnas), provides a reading room, tablets, and free Wi-Fi access to expand digital literacy. (22/6/2026)

Head of the Bekasi Regency Archives and Library Service, Jaoharul Alam, said that Pocadi was presented to make it easier for the public to obtain information and knowledge through digital-based reading materials.

"Pocadi, located in Gedung Juang, offers a larger collection of digital books. Its physical collection is indeed smaller than its digital collection because Pocadi's goal is to increase digital literacy," said Jaoharul Alam.

Jaoharul said that visits to Pocadi Gedung Juang were quite high, especially from students in the Tambun area and its surroundings.

In addition to providing a collection of digital books, Pocadi also offers non-digital literacy activities, such as storytelling services to foster children's interest in reading from an early age.

"Sometimes schools bring their students to Pocadi, where our staff then provide storytelling activities as a medium for conveying information and fostering an interest in reading from an early age," he said.

He explained that library visitors are still dominated by elementary and junior high school students, while visits from the general public continue to be encouraged to increase.

"Most visitors are elementary and middle school students. While there aren't many members of the general public yet, we welcome anyone who wants to visit Pocadi or any nearby library," he explained.

Disarpus also strengthens digital library services through the iBekasiKab application, which provides a diverse collection of e-books in collaboration with Aksara Maya.

"We are currently continuing to expand our digital book collection through a collaboration with Aksara Maya. The iBekasiKab app offers a variety of the latest books available for public access," he explained.

On the other hand, Disarpus continues to increase the number and variety of physical book collections as one of the indicators of the Community Literacy Development Index (IPLM).

Collection additions are made through procurement and support of corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs in the form of book grants which are then distributed to various libraries.

"We also continue to expand our collection and variety of books. Some come from procurement, while others come from CSR in the form of book donations, which we then distribute to various libraries," said Jaoharul.

Jaoharul invited the public to utilize various library services, both conventional and digital, that have been provided by the Bekasi Regency Government.

"Enjoy the extensive book collection, comfortable reading space, and access to digital literacy, accessible to all groups, including students, civil servants, and the general public. We are committed to providing easily accessible library services to all," he concluded.

(Bekasi Regency Communications and Information Service/bhf)