Peran Perpustakaan Desa Dalam Meningkatkan Minat Baca Pada Pelajar di Desa Parit Bilal Kecamatan Pengabuan Kabupaten Tanjung Jabung Barat

Abstract

This study aims to describe the role of the Parit Bilal Village Library in increasing reading interest among students, identify the obstacles faced, and discover the efforts made to overcome these obstacles. This research employed a descriptive qualitative approach using observation, semi-structured interviews, and documentation. The informants included the Village Head, library staff, library members, and students in Parit Bilal Village, Pengabuan District, Tanjung Jabung Barat Regency. The findings revealed that the Parit Bilal Village Library has four main roles: as a source of information, a place for storing collections, a healthy and innovative recreation place, and a facilitator and motivator for visitors. The obstacles faced include the library's less strategic location because it is located inside the village office and merges with the guest room, causing discomfort, the lack of varied book collections that match students' interests, and the low reading interest originating from the students themselves who are more interested in modern entertainment media such as television and gadgets. The efforts made to overcome these obstacles include adding and beautifying book variations and conducting book reviews on social media, providing comfort through room decoration and friendly librarian services, and conducting socialization and promotion of the library to the community and young people. This study concludes that optimizing the role of the village library in increasing students' reading interest requires adequate infrastructure support, competent human resources, and planned and sustainable literacy programs.