There is no perfect time to pick up reading than while you’re in quarantine!
Photo: Arthur Hidden
The National Library of Malaysia (PNM)’s digital book loans have increased during the enforcement of the Movement Control Order (MCO) which began on March 18.
Senior Deputy Director of PNM Library System Division Aidatul Hasnida Abdul Rani said in March, almost 40,000 digital books were borrowed compared to an average of about 15,000 during the regular months.
Not only that, new membership registration for u-Pustaka, its online service portal, along with the number of visitors to the portal had also increased dramatically throughout the MCO.
"There has been an increase in membership and portal visitors to u-Pustaka during the MCO. As of April 21, 2020, the cumulative number of u-Pustaka members stands at 501,295.”
"During the MCO alone, membership registration reached 22,982 members. The highest membership registration was at the beginning of the MCO with 6,069 registrations in one day (19 March),” Aidatul told Bernama.
Photo: DreamTimes
Meanwhile, Aidatul said the choice of reading materials for Malaysians varied, depending on the interest and the information they need. However, during the MCO, more Malaysians made digital book loans for fiction-based reading materials.
Aidatul also reassured the public that the PNM is doing its best to cater to Malaysians’ reading needs.
"PNM from time to time is trying to make digital reading material more accessible to Malaysians. One of our initiatives is to increase the number of digital reading materials every year.”
"In addition, PNM through the u-Pustaka as the information hub of the country has also managed to digitize 1.7 million pages of reading material such as manuscripts, and historical collection, so they can easily be accessed through the u-Pustaka portal," she said
The National Library hopes that these initiatives will attract more Malaysians to use the services provided through u-Pustaka and to read more, online!
So, what are you waiting for? Grab an online book today and start reading!
By: Siti Farhana Sheikh Yahya
