National Library Talks of Reduced Operating Hours Due to Budget Cuts

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Head of the of the Republic of Indonesia, E. Aminudin Aziz, stated that the operating hours of the National Library will be reduced due to budget cuts by President Prabowo Subianto. He explained that this policy is necessary because the National Library's budget has been slashed by about 50 percent.

Previously, the budget for the National Library was Rp721,684,480,000. However, this amount has been reduced by Rp361,699,000,000. This reduction follows the Letter of the Minister of Finance Number S-37/MK.02/2025 dated January 24, 2025, regarding the Expenditure Efficiency of Government Agencies in the Implementation of the 2025 State Budget.

"We are very sorry to have to adjust the library's operating hours at the National Library as a result of the budget cuts," he said when contacted by Tempo on Friday, February 7, 2025.

Aminudin explained that previously the National Library's operating hours could last until 7:00 PM WIB (Western Indonesia Time) due to the budget for overtime. However, in this efficiency policy, the National Library has to reduce overtime costs significantly.

"In the reduction, it was stated that the overtime costs must be significantly reduced. This also applies to other office operations, including electricity, water, and others," he said.

However, he affirmed that the National Library will strive to maintain the services' quality to continue running well. Meanwhile, programs with significant impact and demand from librarians will be maintained as much as possible, even though it may not be as optimal when the budget is more adequate.

Aminudin explained that the National Library's operating hours have been adjusted due to budget cuts. The services are now available from Monday to Thursday, from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM WIB, and on Friday until 4:30 PM WIB. Meanwhile, on Saturday, the National Library operates from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM WIB. As for Sundays, national holidays, and public holidays, the National Library's services will not be operational. This policy will be effective starting February 10, 2025.

Before the budget cuts, the National Library's operating hours were longer. The services were available from Monday to Friday, from 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM WIB, while on Saturday and Sunday, it operated from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM WIB. The National Library was only closed on national holidays and public holidays.

"Of course, the presence of library services is very instrumental. However, when there is not enough budget, what else can we do? We are doing this because it is necessary. We apologize to the National Library's service users," he said.

Ilona Estherina contributed to this report.

Editor's Choice:

to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News