Fostering a reading culture in the community

In an effort to better meet the growing demands of readers and promote a reading movement across the province, local agencies and units have recently stepped up efforts to innovate their operations and diversify communication activities. These efforts aim to satisfy the increasing needs for information retrieval, research, study, and entertainment among readers.

To promote and develop a reading culture across the province, the provincial People's Committee has annually instructed the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism (DCST) and the Department of Education and Training (DOET) to collaborate with relevant sectors and localities in organizing various activities and programs that help spread reading culture in the community.

Diverse book promotion and communication activities

In recent years, the DCST has directed the Provincial Library to work closely with district and commune-level libraries to organize a wide range of events, including exhibitions, book displays, and introductions; to innovate mobile library services; and to collaborate with the Provincial Cultural Center and Museum to bring books to grassroots communities, integrating these with experiential activities. The Provincial Library has also been encouraged to increase online book promotion via its website.

Pham Minh Hanh, Deputy Director of the Provincial Library, shared: “To improve service quality and attract more readers, we have revamped how we promote books. Before 2010, book introductions were only posted on bulletin boards, but now we’ve adopted IT solutions, digitizing over 1,000 books for readers. Notably, while the library only held 1–3 book displays per year before 2020, since 2021 we have organized over 10 artistic book displays annually, not only at the Provincial Library but also in districts and cities.”

Alongside these efforts, mobile library trucks have been deployed to grassroots areas, combining services through coordination between the Provincial Library, Cultural Center, and Museum. These efforts have created appealing and engaging book-related activities for young people. Since the beginning of 2024, the Provincial Library has hosted nearly 100 mobile sessions in remote areas, at border posts, detention centers, and schools. In addition, the library has strengthened collaboration with various agencies and schools to organize book-related competitions, such as the Reading Culture Ambassador contest, drawing contests, and storytelling from books.

Hua Thi Ngoc, Principal of Quan Ban Primary and Secondary School, Loc Binh District, said: “These mobile library sessions are more than just reading events. They now include book clubs, science film viewings, history document experiences, and hands-on book-based activities. I find these very useful and meaningful as they encourage reading, exploration, and help students build appropriate reading habits, skills, and methods, while giving them access to a wide range of quality books.”

Recently, online reading has become a popular trend. As a result, the development of reading culture through the application of information technology has been further promoted. The Provincial Library frequently updates and shares its exhibitions on its Facebook page, “Lang Son Library.” So far, it has digitized nearly 3,000 pages of documents and equipped its mobile library trucks with six computers to serve internet needs of readers in remote areas. In the first quarter of 2025, the library served over 20,000 readers and circulated more than 22,000 books to its distribution points across the province. It now has nearly 6,000 registered reader cards.

Promoting IT Applications in Education

To apply IT in learning, since 2021, in addition to maintaining traditional libraries, the DOET has encouraged schools to guide students in using digital libraries and searching, filtering, and using online information—contributing to the spread of reading culture in schools.

Based on departmental guidance and with investments in IT infrastructure, schools from primary to high school levels have actively promoted e-book reading, established internal information pages, and uploaded articles, documents, and books. Many schools, such as Huu Lung High School (Huu Lung district), Mai Pha Secondary School, and Vinh Trai Primary School (Lang Son city), have maintained the “5 Minutes of Good Books Every Day” segment on their Facebook pages and Zalo class groups, where students and teachers share book introductions, favorite excerpts, and reading inspiration.

Dang Ngoc Tu, Principal of Hoang Van Thu High School in Lang Son City, shared: “Our school uploads study materials, short stories, and study tips to our website. Here, students not only read but also provide opinions, comments, reflections, and can share their favorite books on social media platforms like Zalo and Facebook. This has helped spread the reading movement more positively among students.”

Thanks to school efforts and internet access, students from primary level upwards have gradually learned how to access and read e-books. Chu Hai Nam, a 6th grader at Le Quy Don Primary and Secondary School in Lang Son City, shared: “Outside school hours, I go online to look for good books to read. I’ve also registered for an eBook platform to read online books. That way, I can access a wide variety of books across different fields, including reference materials and textbooks.”

In 2025, to celebrate Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day (April 21), localities across the province organized vibrant activities to promote books and reading culture. These events took place from early April through May 1, with a focus between April 15 and May 1.

A highlight was Lang Son city’s programs held from April 18–19 at Ky Lua Walking Street. These featured innovations in book promotion activities such as ethnic costume showcases, traditional folk games, role-playing and storytelling sessions based on books. Youth union members also guided the public to scan QR codes for free access to digital libraries and shared e-book files via the Youth Union’s social media channels.

Do Lan Anh, a resident of Vinh Trai Ward, Lang Son City, shared: “I took my child to Ky Lua Walking Street on April 18 and was guided to scan a QR code to read books. After scanning with my phone, I was directed to nhasachmienphi.com’s library, which has thousands of books and stories of all genres. I find this activity very helpful and practical.”

Alongside Lang Son City, many other units across the province also organized Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day with a variety of activities. Since early April 2025, over 90% of agencies, units, and schools in the province have conducted related activities. Notable examples include Van Lang High School, which introduced books online via video on its fanpage; Hoang Van Thu High School, which hosted book display competitions, introduced books through school radio announcements, and promoted the importance of reading through loudspeakers.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of various sectors and authorities in renewing and diversifying book outreach activities, the province has reignited a passion for reading and further advanced the reading movement across all social strata—helping build a learning society, improve intellectual standards, and shape a healthy lifestyle in the community.