Certificate of the Constitutional Court’s Library’s accreditation

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — After passing the accreditation assessment process by the assessor team of the National Library of the Republic of Indonesia on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, the Constitutional Court’s (MK) Library finally achieved accreditation “A” (very satisfactory). This was confirmed by Pan Mohamad Faiz, head of the Center for Research, Case Review, and Library Management (Puslitka) in an interview with the Court’s media crew.

“Not many libraries of ministries or institutions have accreditation ‘A.’ This is an achievement not only for Puslitka, but also the Court itself. The Library would not have been able to obtain the accreditation without the full support of various parties, the Court’s leadership and librarians, who managed it well. We are also motivated that we can provide services not only to the Court, but also to the public,” he explained.

National and International Collaboration

Faiz said that Puslitka would gradually turn the Library into a digital one. One of the ways is collaborating with the National Library (Perpusnas) through the development of “'Indonesia One Search” to make it easier for users to find literature they need.

“So, the Court’s database is already in the National Library. Anyone who needs literature that the Court’s Library carry can see that the books are in the Constitutional Court. And the Court’s Library does not only provide only books on general issues, but also on specific legal issues in handling cases that constitutional justices might need,” he added.

In fact, in 2023, the Court’s Library collaborated with Brill Academic Publishers, based in Leiden, to jointly publish a book. The book was written by renowned authors from various countries in connection with the “20 Journey of the Constitutional Court.” Faiz added that the Court’s Library has been pursuing international agendas to improve the competence and experience of its librarians.

Journey to Accreditation “A”

Library coordinator Hanindyo said that since 2022 he had started pursuing the accreditation for the Library as required by the Directorate of Standardization and Accreditation of the National Library. He explained that the Court’s Library is classified as a special library and must meet library standardization like other libraries. In order to achieve the accreditation target, the Court’s librarians consulted with the DKI Jakarta Library, which has a team of assessors qualified to provide direction for the Court.

Hanindyo admitted that since the Court’s Library was formed, it had pursued this accreditation but the librarians must focus on providing support and services to constitutional justices relating case study materials, so it was not a priority. Only recently was it pursued again, in line with the support of the Court’s leadership. The hard work finally paid off in July 2023, when the Court’s Library received accreditation “A” (very satisfactory) from the National Library.

“The most important things for accreditation are organizational management, room layout, collection, and budget. When the assessment team came, the Library had fulfilled all of them. They also mentioned that the Court’s Library must be prepared to be recommended as a reference library and subsequently to be published by the National Library, for example by submitting testimonials from library users, constitutional justices, and all the requirements to Perpusnas. This assessment will take place every 2 years. If the Library has more developments, it could also get accreditation “A plus,” which is the next target done by upgrading facilities, spatial arrangement, and design for improving the technology system,” Hanindyo explained.

Kampus Merdeka Program

Hanindyo also revealed the Court’s achievements of not only carrying 22,000 physical books and 420 e-books, but has also become part of Kampus Merdeka (“Independent Campus”) for students of the Library Science study program. Recently, through cooperation between the Court’s Library and a State Islamic University, a lecture involving the Court’s librarians was held.

“We have all the learning materials they need, on managing a library as a whole, processing books so they are ready to be displayed, and promoting and maintaining the library. All can be practiced. This program is different from an internship, which only lasts for one month. At the end of the semester, they present the results at the Constitutional Court and also at their campus. This is an advantage for the Court’s Library because the Court is ready with all the tools and human resources,” he said.

Multitalented Personnel

In promoting the Library, the Library team often participates in exhibitions at major events by the Court and joint events with other state institutions, during which they explain the Constitutional Court’s highly qualified library personnel. In addition, Hanindyo said, the Library personnel are multitalented because they not only provide legal sources for constitutional justices but also services for the public who need learning materials for legal studies at the Court’s Library.

“This accreditation has an impact on the wider use of the Constitutional Court. Come to the Court’s Library to look for information and study. The Court also provides services and materials for constitutional justices for case studies. The Court’s dynamic is very fast so we have to keep up with it. The Court’s Library is even used as reference material by other institutions to develop their libraries,” Hanindyo said.

Author       : Sri Pujianti
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
Translator  : Tahlitha Laela/Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Disclaimer: The original version of the news is in Indonesian. In case of any differences between the English and the Indonesian versions, the Indonesian version will prevail.

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