This comprises nearly 1500 books published 1911-1980 by Balai Pustaka, a publisher founded in 1908 by the Dutch East Indies Commissie voor de Volkslectuur (Committee of Popular Literature).
The collection is extensive with particularly strong holdings for the 1920s-1930s. It includes original works by Indonesian authors, traditional literature, classical works, Indonesian translations of Western novels, almanacs, and information publications on health, hygiene, agriculture and education. The books are in Indonesian, Dutch, and various local Indonesian languages.
Details of all items can be found through the Balai Pustaka collection.
They are on closed access and can only be used in the Special Collections Reading Room.
Balai Pustaka publications published after 1980 are held in the general Indonesian collection.
Two other sources of Balai Pustaka publications are Indonesian Monographs 1945-1968 and Pandji Poestaka, the Malay illustrated weekly, 1922-1945.