Volkslectuur (English: Popular Reading; officially Bureau voor de Volkslectuur en aanverwante aangelegenheden) was a Dutch colonial government institution based in Weltevreden, Java, responsible for publishing and distributing useful literature in the principal indigenous languages of the Dutch East Indies. Under the direction of Dr. C. P. Gunning, it published the Nederlandsch Indië Platen Atlas (1926) in January 1926.
Account from Nederlandsch Indië Platen Atlas (1926) — Volkslectuur
The atlas itself was published by Volkslectuur, printed by G. Kolff & Co. The foreword describes Volkslectuur as an institution that, through the dissemination of useful literature on all sorts of subjects in the principal indigenous languages, ensured that “de eenmaal door den Inlander verworven kennis onderhouden en aangevuld kan worden” (the knowledge once acquired by the native could be maintained and supplemented).
The atlas’s foreword also notes that the publication was made possible by the good offices (“goede zorg”) of Dr. C. P. Gunning and of Volkslectuur, and that it was published in the Netherlands by arrangement, making it affordable and accessible to a wide public — in contrast to earlier works of similar scope that were available only to a small circle of interested parties due to their price.
Significance
Volkslectuur represents the colonial government’s recognition that popular education and the dissemination of knowledge were essential tools of governance. Its multilingual publishing programme — producing works in Javanese, Sundanese, Malay, and other languages — complemented the formal education system described elsewhere in the atlas. The publication of the Nederlandsch Indië Platen Atlas as a jubilee volume for Queen Wilhelmina’s silver reign also reflects Volkslectuur’s role in shaping the official narrative of the colonial enterprise.
See Also
Sources
Nederlandsch Indië Platen Atlas met korte beschrijvingen, uitgegeven door Volkslectuur, Weltevreden, Java. Weltevreden: G. Kolff & Co., January 1926. Foreword; Chapter IV (Godsdienst, Onderwijs), p. 75.