Muhammadiyah University Yogyakarta Community Service Team: Assessing Literacy Levels in Banjarnegara

On Thursday, February 15, 2024, the community service team from Muhammadiyah University Yogyakarta conducted a visit to Banjarnegara Regency, Central Java. The team comprised 3 librarians and 2 library staff, accompanied by the Head Librarian, Novy Diana Fauzie, SS., MA. The primary objective of this activity was to measure the reading preferences of the Banjarnegara community.

The initiative commenced with a visit to the Office of Planning, Research, and Development (Baperlitbang) of Banjarnegara Regency. In order to gather necessary information, the community service team organized a Forum Group Discussion (FGD) involving librarians from Muhammadiyah University Yogyakarta and representatives from the Banjarnegara community.

Representatives from Banjarnegara included Drs. Arief Rahman, S.T., M.Si. (Head of the Archive and Library Department), Anton Hermawan, S.E., M.Akun (Head of Baperlitbang), and sub-district heads from several districts in Banjarnegara. The event commenced with welcoming speeches from both parties, Muhammadiyah University Yogyakarta's Library and the Banjarnegara Regency Government.

The agenda continued with a presentation outlining the objectives of the community service activity, including details on research methods, data collection techniques, and expected outcomes. The FGD then focused on in-depth discussions about previous research related to information literacy in Banjarnegara Regency.

The FGD concluded with the distribution of questionnaires to sub-district heads from various districts in Banjarnegara. The questionnaires were accompanied by links and QR codes to facilitate distribution to the communities in each respective sub-district.

This community service activity aims to provide a deeper understanding of the literacy levels in Banjarnegara and serves as a foundation for planning literacy programs in the future.