Source publication is one form of archival publication. This manuscript is in the form of a book that aims to make it easier for the public to access and utilize static archives according to certain themes.
For Sumedang District, West Java, which has declared itself a tourism District in 2019, source texts on tourist attractions are important as a source of valid information for the community. For this reason, the Universitas Indonesia (UI) through the Rectorate of Community Service and Empowerment (DPPM) held a training on making source manuscripts to enrich the treasures of static archives in Sumedang as a form of community service grant program (pengmas).
“Source manuscripts can be a reference for public regarding all aspects of a particular theme. A creative narrative approach is a necessity for today’s generation, so that the display of source scripts will be more attractive,” said Dyah Safitri, M.Hum., Head of Service and Lecturer of Records and Archives Management Study Program, UI Vocational Education Program.
Creative narration in the source text of tourist objects in Sumedang can appear in an interesting visual form by combining text, images, diagrams, and infographics without forgetting the authenticity of static archives. Moreover, Sumedang has a variety of historical attractions since the days of the Sumedang Larang Kingdom, legendary culinary delights such as Cilembu tofu and sweet potatoes, to Jatigede dam which is the second largest dam in Indonesia.
“This activity opened new horizons for us regarding static archives managed by the Office. We have the SISEMAR platform for static archives, but for the publication of source manuscripts, we do not have sufficient human resources,” said Dr. Dian Sukmara, M.Pd., Head of the Sumedang Regency Archives and Library Office.
According to Dr. Dian, the static archive source manuscript approach is not just about providing historical information, but must be authentic to the existing static archive. The existence of a complete historical heritage with constitutional systems, social systems, culture, and so on, makes the source texts richer. In addition, the increasing variety of tourist attractions in Sumedang Regency certainly requires rich and authentic information so that the source text can not only be accessed by the community, but also tourists and tourism industry players.
The training activity which was held last September at the Office of Archives and Library of Sumedang Regency was attended by 25 participants who are archivists. The service team involved in the activity were UI’s Vocational Records and Archives Management study program lecturers, namely Ratih Surtikanti, M.Hum., Niko Grataridarga, M.Hum., and Wiwiet Mardiati, MIM; and 10 students.
Other materials provided in this training include archival discovery tools, creative narratives for source texts, as well as sharing knowledge and experiences related to how to utilize social media as a contemporary tool for archive publication so that source texts reach a wider community. This effort is also a form of institutional strengthening, which is the 16th goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The first archivist of the Sumedang Districts Archives and Library Service, Cecep Sunarya, S.Sos., said that many benefits were obtained from this activity. “We learned how to make more creative source scripts and how to use social media as a means of publishing archives. We hope that collaboration with UI can continue and the static archives of Sumedang Regency will be better and more interesting,” said Cecep.
After the training, the activity continued with the preparation of creative narrative resource scripts in the form of printed and electronic books. This source manuscript in the future can become new material on the static archive platform of the Sumedang District Archives and Library Office, namely SISEMAR(sisemar.sumedangkab.go.id), and become an interesting source of information for Sumedang District tourism industry players.
