Lontar's Research & Documentation Division, center for the Foundation's audio-visual documentation program and its research library forms the backbone of support for numerous Foundation activities from documentary making, to literary research, to design concepts.

Library

The Division's library holds almost two thousand titles in Indonesian, English, and other languages on Indonesian literature and culture; translations of Indonesian literature in other languages; and periodicals devoted to this field. The library also has in its collection well over three thousand professional-quality slides and transparencies of Indonesian manuscripts and oral traditions; more than one thousand old photographs; and a large number of rare books. These materials have been proven to be not only highly useful for use in book production but a rich source of ideas for the Foundation's design section.

At present the Foundation employs two full time professional librarians for its documentation and cataloguing needs. Lontar also employs a number of researchers who work on a project basis.

Audio Visual

Also stored in Lontar's library is the foundation's video collection, produced by the Audio Visual Section and, containing, in addition to finished videos that the Foundation has produced, the hundreds of hours of raw footage from which these videos were made. This includes unseen interviews with Indonesian writers, historical figures and performances of oral literary traditions. Indexing, cataloguing and digitalization of these materials are ongoing. At the moment Lontar is in negotiations with UCLA to establish a permanent digital collection of video, audio, over 5,000 slides of Indonesian images as well as manuscripts and other documents pertaining to Indonesian literature and culture.

Books that Lontar publishes fall into one of three categories: core publications, special publications, co-publications. Selection of publications is determined by an editorial advisory board made up of Indonesian writers and foreign scholars active in the field of Indonesian language and literature.

Core Publications

Lontar defines a 'core publication' as a title that is intended for (if not absolutely necessary for) the teaching of courses on Indonesian literature in translation. Lontar has as one of its goals the publication of a minimum of fifty 'core titles'. These, plus other (non-Lontar) translations that are already available would comprise a number sufficient for the teaching of Indonesian literature in translation.

Special Publications

Special publications are, generally speaking, large format books requiring a much larger amount funding than is required for a core publication. Illuminations: The Writing Traditions of Indonesia , published by Lontar in 1996 is one such publication. Although this book is now essential reading matter for any student of Indonesian language and literature, both the amount of time and the cost of its development and production - well over US$ 300,000 - meant that it could not be including in the Foundation's core publication budget and that a special fund raising campaign was required for its publication. Such was also the case for Golden Letters and Early Views of Indonesia, both produced in cooperation with the British Library, and the other books that fall in this category.

Co-Publications

Lontar also publishes titles that have been developed by outside parties. Insofar as the title falls within the aims of Lontar's publications program, Lontar will work with the party to develop the title and will use its own imprint. An example of this kind of book is The Mute's Soliloquy, the autobiography of Pramoedya Ananta Toer. While definitely a must-read for students of Indonesian literature, because the book had already been published in the United States, it was unnecessary for Lontar to devote its own time and financial resources to bring this book into print. Nonetheless, because the Indonesian copyright holder had no experience in handling English language publications, Lontar was contracted to produce the book for distribution in Indonesia.

In other cases, Lontar might handle only the design, development and production of a title while leaving its name off the book and letting the contracting party handle its own distribution. Reclaiming the Past: Essays on Cultural Transformation in Southeast Asia, an ASEAN publication, is one such example. For books in this category most, if not all, of the necessary funding is provided by the contracting party and is in place before work begins. Further, Lontar will only takes on a co-publication project if staff time permits.

As is the case with most small publishing houses, Lontar loses money on the sale of its books. To suppliment the Foundation's income, Lontar created a Marketing and Design division. The Foundation wanted to avoid ever being caught in a position where it was completely reliant on outside sources of funding for its livelihood.

Lontar products

Working with Lontar's Publications Division, the Marketing Division produces and sales a wide range of products - not just books, but also note cards, calendars, bookmarks, and other items that enhance the image of and provide revenue for other Lontar activities. Lontar has increased its number of steady customers, corporations and individuals who use Lontar cards and calendars for their own business and holiday needs and, in so doing, show that they care about the preservation and development of Indonesian culture. Having created a domestic market for these products Lontar is now seeking to expand its international sales. Lontar board members believe that anything that has a positive impact on foreign impressions of Indonesia will, in the long term, help to further Lontar's goal to establish a market for Indonesian literature in translation.

Design

The design section, also located within the Marketing Division, is equipped with all the necessary computer and scanning equipment to meet Lontar's design needs (for books, cards, calendars etc.). The Design section also contracts out its services to increase Lontar's direct income.