Dian Arya Susanti, National Outstanding Librarian 2019
On August 17, 2019, Dian Arya Susanti won 3rd place in the 2019 National Achievement Librarian. The achievement was given to him by the National Library of the Republic of Indonesia after passing a series of selection stages including portfolio submission, paper making, interviews, cognitive tests, and presentations. Previously, she was the runner-up of the 2016 West Java Outstanding Librarian and made it to the top 7 of the 2017 West Java Outstanding Librarian. Despite having problems participating in a similar competition in 2018, this year Dian finally represented West Java to compete at the national level.
Dian is an alumnus of Fikom Unpad class of ’97 who is now part of the Central Library of Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia. The woman who was born in Bandung admitted that she was happy to participate in this competition. In addition to new challenges, she was able to meet people who share the same vision for literature in Indonesia. It can create interesting informal discussion spaces. “There can also be a lot of discussion on how libraries in their respective regions, the role of the government, and how the community responds to libraries,” he said.
Having been a librarian for more than a decade, for her, outstanding librarianship means doing more than the usual librarian duties. He also said that librarians must be able to carry out activities that support the realization of a social inclusion-based library which can later become part of improving the welfare of the community. She also revealed that librarians need to work harder in making the library a part of people’s lives because some students are still reluctant when asked by librarians.
Regarding the efforts to create a library based on social inclusion, he was amazed by the efforts of his fellow Outstanding Librarians in achieving this goal. “What they do is really go into the community, educate the community, provide training on literacy & librarianship to literacy communities around them, and carry out movements that are literacy in nature, be it environmental, information, or financial literacy to the surrounding community,” said Dian Arya Susanti.
The librarian, who has an interest in art, shared her disappointment when she attended a professional introduction event for new students. At that time, she was asked about the income of a librarian. “I am extremely disappointed, because in this profession, don’t expect material. The most important thing is to do your best,” he said. He also explained that being a librarian is more than how much material you get but how much of a role in improving welfare in society.
Aside from being part of a profession, a mother who loves reading considers being a librarian as part of a hobby. “Actually, I had no idea I wanted to be a librarian but I love being in the library,” she said. One thing she is grateful for about being part of the library is having a broad outlook. Moreover, meeting with users with different needs.
On the occasion of the interview, he conveyed several messages to Fikom Unpad students, including believing that God will reward every good thing we do. He believes that when carrying out the role of librarians in improving welfare in society, we need to do whatever we can do even if it is not part of our jobdesk.
