Vietnamese people’s reading habits are on the decline, according to participants in a recent workshop on the need to develop a stronger reading culture in Vietnam.
At the workshop held in Ho Chi Minh City on Sept. 16, the Publication Department reported that last year, nearly 24,600 book titles with over 273,500 million copies were published, a year-on-year rise of 7 percent.
However, there was no outstanding book title with dozens of thousands of copies in the market as before, according to Quach Thu Nguyet, former Director of the Young Publishing House.
Philosophic scholar Bui Van Nam Son said the situation in Vietnam is the same as other countries in the world. At present there are so many recreation programmes, movies, games and lots of work that affect people’s reading habits.
Meanwhile, school libraries, which can have a great influence on students’ reading habits, are short of funds for new books and their poor infrastructure make them fail to attract youth readers, according to workshop participants.
To boost the reading culture in Vietnam, writer Nguyen Ngoc suggested families have their own bookshelf, as the family home is an ideal place to create reading habits for everyone.
The education sector also plays an important role in nourishing student’s reading habits, scientists said, stressing the necessity of refreshing the contents of literature subjects taught at schools.
According to the delegates, it is necessary to improve the quality of libraries at schools and at district and municipal levels and strengthen State management of the publication and quality of printed information.
They also suggested a day to encourage Vietnamese people to read books, which may coincide with World Reading Day, March 24./.
At the workshop held in Ho Chi Minh City on Sept. 16, the Publication Department reported that last year, nearly 24,600 book titles with over 273,500 million copies were published, a year-on-year rise of 7 percent.
However, there was no outstanding book title with dozens of thousands of copies in the market as before, according to Quach Thu Nguyet, former Director of the Young Publishing House.
Philosophic scholar Bui Van Nam Son said the situation in Vietnam is the same as other countries in the world. At present there are so many recreation programmes, movies, games and lots of work that affect people’s reading habits.
Meanwhile, school libraries, which can have a great influence on students’ reading habits, are short of funds for new books and their poor infrastructure make them fail to attract youth readers, according to workshop participants.
To boost the reading culture in Vietnam, writer Nguyen Ngoc suggested families have their own bookshelf, as the family home is an ideal place to create reading habits for everyone.
The education sector also plays an important role in nourishing student’s reading habits, scientists said, stressing the necessity of refreshing the contents of literature subjects taught at schools.
According to the delegates, it is necessary to improve the quality of libraries at schools and at district and municipal levels and strengthen State management of the publication and quality of printed information.
They also suggested a day to encourage Vietnamese people to read books, which may coincide with World Reading Day, March 24./.
