The story of Mr. Lac the library and the 'Intellectual House' with nearly 9,000 books in Nghe An

Veterans "carrying prison and general goods"

Just arriving at the beginning of Bac Son hamlet, Bac Thanh commune (Yen Thanh district), we were shown the way to the "house of wisdom". It was only 8am but this place was already bustling with the laughter of children. During the summer break, the "house of wisdom" was always more bustling and crowded than usual.

The “Intellectual House” in Bac Son hamlet has been operating regularly for nearly 14 years now, with nearly 9,000 copies of books. The total number of people who have been granted reader cards is nearly 700 and has been connected to the “Intellectual House” of the whole country. As both the person in charge and the person who arranges and searches for books, Mr. Nguyen Van Lac (born in 1951), a member of the Veterans Association of Bac Son hamlet, is jokingly called Mr. Lac “library” by the people.

Born in Yen Thanh, young man Nguyen Van Lac joined the army in 1969, when he was only 17 years old. Due to family circumstances, in 1984, he asked to be discharged from the army and transferred to work at the Department of Culture and Sports of Yen Thanh district. With the nature of Uncle Ho's soldiers, he always completed his professional tasks excellently. With the trust of his superiors and colleagues, in January 1998, he was appointed as Director of the Center for Culture and Sports of Yen Thanh district, until the end of 2010, he retired according to the regime.

As someone who has been involved in cultural work for many years, when he joined the Veterans Association of the hamlet, Mr. Nguyen Van Lac could not bear to see the scene of war veteran members and many people passing around a copy of the "Veterans' Newsletter", a newspaper, a book... that had become old and torn over time; therefore, he boldly used his connections and prestige to propose to the Party Committee and the Executive Committee of Bac Son hamlet to borrow the warehouse in the hamlet's Cultural House as a place to read books on Sundays and for the last 2 hours in the afternoon on weekdays.

After receiving approval from the Party cell and the hamlet executive committee, veteran Nguyen Van Lac mobilized all of his personal books and borrowed some neighboring libraries as reference materials for the people.

Mr. Lac confided: “When I saw people in the neighborhood borrowing each other’s newsletters to read, and children pooling money to rent old, worn-out books, I just wanted to do something to give people the opportunity to read more good books. I was very fortunate to have the local government support and help me when I proposed the idea. Up to now, although the number of books is still limited, it has helped students have a new playground, and helped local people have a place to look up and explore new knowledge.”

After the government agreed and the entire Bac Son hamlet enthusiastically agreed, Mr. Nguyen Van Lac advised the hamlet's Veterans Association to propose a plan to contribute 10,000 VND to each household, which was very well supported by the people and many children who were far from home and doing business successfully, and those with good economic conditions and the rich donated hundreds of millions of VND. In less than 2 months, the "Intellectual House" of Bac Son hamlet was completed, spacious, airy, with enough tables and chairs for dozens of people to sit and read books and newspapers.

Mr. Nguyen Duy Thu - Chairman of the Association of War Veterans of Bac Thanh Commune said: Veteran Nguyen Van Lac has promoted the spirit of Uncle Ho's soldiers, not afraid of difficulties, for nearly 14 years he has been a "home-cooked meal worker and a village worker", without salary, allowance, or wages. He is like a hard-working bee, diligently taking care of, protecting, preserving, and enriching the "Intellectual House" that the Party Committee, government, and people of Bac Son Hamlet have entrusted to him.

Forming reading habits for people

Since having a place to read books, learn knowledge and update information on the policies of the Party and the State, the members of the Veterans Association in particular and the people of Bac Son hamlet in general have expanded their knowledge; children have learned many more fun and useful stories.

However, veteran Nguyen Van Lac always worries about "enriching" the bookshelf, adding many genres to meet the reading needs of local people. Right from the first days of establishment, Mr. Lac went to the District Culture - Sports Center to contact and borrow books as a source of materials to serve the needs of readers. Mr. Nguyen Van Lac also sought information and connected with the "Humanity Bookshelf" and the "Wisdom House" of Vietnam to contact many books for children in the area.

For more than a decade, he has been "asking for books" and "carrying books" back to the village, each book is associated with a memorable memory. He told us about the memories of traveling many times to the Provincial Library to ask for books on history for teenagers, children, cultural books from different regions..., touched by his enthusiasm and perseverance, the Provincial Library leaders agreed to send the books, not only that, they also introduced many organizations and philanthropists to contribute books to "enrich" the "Intellectual House".

When there were too many books and not enough space to store them, Mr. Nguyen Van Lac called on his successful children who were far from home to make bookshelves and cabinets for easy storage and arrangement, helping readers to easily find them.

Since then, the "Intellectual House" of Bac Son hamlet has become an indispensable "spiritual food" for every resident. Every year, the children living far from home in the hamlet contribute funds to build more cabinets, bookshelves, add more lighting, cooling fans and a drinking water system...

Up to now, for nearly 14 years, the "Intellectual House" in Bac Son hamlet has had more than 9,000 books of all genres: literature, science, history, children... Every week, the "Intellectual House" opens its doors to welcome readers on Sundays and at 2 pm on the remaining days.

In recognition of his continuous contribution to spreading knowledge in the community over the past 14 years, veteran Nguyen Van Lac has been awarded many certificates of merit and commendation by all levels and sectors. He is truly a shining example, always promoting the nature of "Uncle Ho's soldiers".