NEWS | Aug 6, 2008 (Source: thejakartapost.com)
Bogor, a haven for a botanical pilgrimage

Bogor, or Buitenzorg as it was originally known, seems to be destined to become a center for botanical studies.

Located south of Jakarta at the foot of the mountains that span the length of Java, the area was deemed in the 1880's by the British governor general for East Indies of the time to be the perfect place to build a garden where he could keep his collection of plants gathered from across the archipelago.

His garden has become the modern day Bogor Botanical Gardens.

The city is home to two old libraries; the older of which belongs to the Indonesian Biotechnology Plantation Research Center (BPBPI) and the younger to the Agriculture and Biology Library Center (Pustaka).

Both display remarkable collections of early research compiled during botanical expeditions across the vast island chain that through modern politics has come to be known as Indonesia.

The two libraries have been sources of vital information for botanical research carried out today.

Built in 1926, the BPBPI library, which under Dutch rule was known as Central Vereniging Proefstation, is located near Taman Kencana public park and is a superbly maintained example of Dutch-colonialism architecture.

Head of the BPBPI Siti Rochmah said the library had a wide range of unique collections, including scientific research documents dating back one hundred years.

"We have several books from Georg Eberhard Rumphius' expeditions in Ambon, which were mostly published in the 1700's," she said recently.

Rumphius was a German botanist who dedicated his entire life to the discovery and collecting of flora and fauna in Ambon, Maluku. Among his prominent works are Het Amboinsche kruidboek or Herbarium Amboinense, a catalog of plants covering 1,200 species, published in 1741.

Siti said the BPBPI's collection consisted of 13,560 books, 1,600 scientific journals, 92 dissertations and theses, 302 internal reports, 3,123 reprints and 6 antiquarian books.

Another product of Rumphius' expeditions is the well preserved D'Amboinsche Rariteitkamer, which contains pictures of herbal medicines and spices, including tamarine. It was published in Dutch by publisher Halma of Amsterdam in 1705.

"We keep the (antique) book apart from other collections and do not make it available to the public because of its old condition and high historical value.

"Other than that, the condition of its paper is really fragile, we don't display collections to random people, we only take it out in special moments," said Siti.

The library also provides internet facilities for visitors.

The other old library, Pustaka, was built in May 1842. It is located on Jl. Juanda, Bogor, and is currently managed by the Agriculture Ministry.

Pustaka has a collection of 80,000 books, 600,000 journals, 9,000 scientific magazines and 3,045 antique collections, which are mostly between 100 and 500 years old.

One of its books, Het Cruydtboeck by Rembertus Dodonaeus, is one of the oldest books in the world. Dodonaeus is known as the father of modern botany.

The first copy of the book was published in 1554, and the fifth in 1608 in Leyden. The book consists of written descriptions and illustrations of plants.

Another antique is Historiae Generalis Plantarum, written by J. Dalechamps in 1585, and Flora Javae, written by Lume between 1848 and 1849.

Pustaka also keeps its antique collections under safe guard.

Maksum, the head of Pustaka library, said their collections mostly consisted of journals rather than books as the library had functioned as a research center since the colonial era.

"These antique collections are really valuable, that's why we try to conserve them by keeping them on closed shelves away from the general collections, and we repair their bindings and laminate damaged pages," he said.

If visitors wish to browse their contents, they can view their scanned pages on CD ROMS provided by the library, Maksum said.

Pustaka used to be a part of the Bogor Botanical Gardens. However, in 1974, Pustaka separated from the Garden's management. It now has one of the biggest collections of literature on agriculture and biology in Asia.

The library specializes in biological and agricultural researchers, and its collections mostly concern agribusiness and agriculture.

Most of the researches based at the library are students of the Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB).

An IPB student who majors in biochemistry, Putu Ayu Trisna, said she had found Pustaka's book collection to be very complete when she was looking for data on plain and tapioca flour for her study assignment.

"Books and journals collections in Pustaka are very complete, one of the limitations is that we can't see the antique collections directly," she said.

Trisna said she hoped one day Pustaka would let the public see the antique collections, especially those on Rumphius' expeditions.