Deputy Prime Minister attends book festival

On the morning of April 17, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam visited and cut the ribbon to open the Book Fair to celebrate Vietnam Book Day 2015 (April 21) at Thong Nhat Park, Hanoi.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam cuts the ribbon to open the Book Fair to celebrate Vietnam Book Day 2015. Photo: VGP/Dinh Nam

At this Book Fair, in addition to the booth area designed to be closely related to the specific characteristics of each unit with a total usable area of ​​over 1,000 m2 serving the activities of visiting and buying books, there is also an exhibition area arranged according to a model with themes closely following the country's key tasks in 2015, an area introducing electronic publications, calligraphy, and ancient Vietnamese characters.

In addition to the exhibition and supporting activities, the book fair is a place to introduce and sell books and publications with 150 booths of 100 publishing houses and book companies nationwide with thousands of book titles and tens of thousands of copies of books of various genres: children's books; literature, social and cultural books; economic books, science and technology; foreign books; e-books and digital devices...

There are also other diverse activities such as: seminars, book discussions; lectures, exchanges with authors; introduction of good books, new books.

In particular, the Book Fair also has activities aimed at community benefits, with positive social significance such as: Units allocate a portion of the funds from book sales profits to support the Fund for Poor Students in Highlands, support officers and soldiers on duty at the border and islands; build boarding houses for primary school students in mountainous, remote and isolated areas; collect books to donate to the rural book program.

According to Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan, recently, reading culture institutions have received attention from all levels, sectors and localities for investment in building and developing into a widespread system nationwide.

The country currently has 1 national library, 63 provincial libraries, 650 district libraries, about 2,400 commune, ward and town libraries, and a system of school libraries from primary to university, science and technology libraries, libraries of the people's army, people's police...

In addition, tens of thousands of law bookcases, bookcases at commune cultural post offices, bookcases at border stations, hundreds of thousands of reading rooms, bookcases in villages, hamlets, residential groups, and residential areas have also been built.

At the same time, more and more bookcases, private libraries, and family libraries with valuable book collections are appearing. Many bookstores, bookstores, and book supermarkets have developed rapidly in recent years in cities, towns, industrial parks, etc.

Book fairs and book streets are also held in big cities, creating conditions for the public to have more frequent and easier access to books and new cultural products published domestically and internationally.

Also within the series of activities nationwide to celebrate Vietnam Book Day, from April 1 to May 1, 2015, many activities in localities also took place in response to the book day very enthusiastically with the organization of "Book distribution month to celebrate Vietnam Book Day"; "Book distribution week to celebrate Vietnam Book Day" nationwide and many programs such as: Organizing booths to display, exhibit, introduce according to content; book signing, donating books to poor children, organizing activities to respond to Vietnam Book Day in schools, libraries, cultural centers... Thereby, continuing to affirm and honor the values ​​of books; affirming the value, cultural significance, the necessity of Vietnam Book Day in the spiritual life of the community; honoring readers and those who participate in collecting, composing, publishing, printing, distributing, preserving and promoting books.

According to chinhphu.vn