You will often have heard people say that they prefer paper books, and who can blame them for that? The feel in your hand, even the smell, and the sound of the paper when you turn the page – let’s face it, it just hits different!
Across an enormous country such as Kazakhstan, with a distance of over 2,500 miles between each end of its territory, the feasibility of transporting hundreds of physical books into population centres is limited, and while schools in even the smallest villages have respectable stocks of them, there are so many titles available that can’t be delivered just anywhere.
Recognising the importance of reading, whether that traditional or something more modern and pixel-based, is the Kitap.kz team, based in Astana, but responsible for a valuable contribution to the education of Kazakhstanis everywhere.
About the Kitap Project
Kitap is the Kazakh word for book, and with 5,000 on their website and app, they have enough titles available to keep many a bibliophile happy, and school pupil learning, for some years.
saqtimes.kz/en met up with Assiya Makayeva, the Project Manager of the website and app, who explained that she was almost solely responsible for Kitap itself, while as part of a larger organisation, there is a wider team in support at all times.
“Kitap is part of a group called Bilim Land. I, as product manager, am directly responsible for product development, but behind the platform is a whole team: developers, designers, support, sales, methodologists, and managers who build strategy and determine the direction of development. It’s a team effort, where everyone contributes to ensuring books reach readers.”
The main aim of the project is to make books available to everybody around the country. The focus is primarily on younger people with the options centred around more traditional texts in Kazakh, Russian, and English books completing the collection, alongside a handful of things in other languages, such as Arabic.
Assiya was keen to point out that Kitap is not just for schools, but that people of all ages regularly open their hundreds of books, many of them leaving ratings to help other readers make choices as to what they want to read.
Kitap’s History
As mentioned, the online library is part of the Bilim Group, Kazakhstan’s largest EdTech holding, which runs over 15 educational projects.
Kitap itself dates back to 2012, while the app came three years later, soon fully stocked and then upgraded in 2021. The small design team were also called on to ensure that the titles displayed neatly on small screens, and there were no problems hosting the library.
Shortly after the launch, the team got to work to expand the library and did so by introducing audiobooks. Not all of the titles can be accessed in this form, but the team believes that the option is important, especially for very young people who are only just starting to get interested in books.
“This is a really useful tool for teachers to use in the classroom,” explained Assiya.
“We believe that kitap.kz has already become essential in many schools around the country, even in the most remote towns and villages.
“This is our overriding aim, as a project. There are tiny schools in places that take half a day to reach, yet their teachers now have access to hundreds of books, which can be so important in educating their young pupils.
“Books can inspire people, and it is just the same with school children.”
Not only for the classroom, we might add, but for homework and hopefully something to keep them away from overusing computer games and social media.
According to Assiya:
“We combine our service with another platform called BilimClass, part of BilimLand. This allows teachers to attach books from Kitap to homework assignments and track students’ reading progress directly within the platform. This makes Kitap more than just a library, but an integral part of the educational process.
“We plan to incorporate AI in the near future, but are very keen that this enhances the reader’s involvement with the book, rather than replacing it. Something that makes people think more about the story, not less.”
The Choices Available on Kitap
There was no first book on Kitap, as the library launched with a healthy catalogue numbering into the hundreds, but since its first days, it has established itself as a go-to leisure option for thousands, with many of them opting for the popular classics that are part of Kazakhstani history.
The most opened title is Beseudin Khaty by Sherkhan Murtaza, which is a historical drama. Then, the famous story about a child longing for his mother, entitled Anasyn Sagyngan Bala by Tynymbay Nurmagambetov, is always popular. Then, Ushkan Uya by Bauyrzhan Momyshuly, an extremely widely read and respected writer, is a staple for many readers.
A range of titles in English also appear, including the locally written graded readers about an English boy with a Kazakh name, The Adventures of Aibat, which have also received generous ratings by readers keen to work through the various levels of the series and improve their language skills. These free-to-read original stories sit alongside more established classics such as Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and some of the best of Mark Twain.
It has often been said that a child who reads will become an adult who thinks. Even without the timeless magic of a paper book, that can still happen, thanks to the valuable work of Assiya Makayeva and her support team in the office in Astana.
