The target of number of books per capita is delayed by 14 years.

In 2024, the number of books per capita will only reach nearly 6 books/person/year, the number that Directive 42 on improving the overall quality of publishing activities set as a target by 2010. Thus, the publishing industry is 14 years behind target.

Head of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission Nguyen Trong Nghia delivered a speech at the conference - Photo: Organizing Committee

The information was announced by Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission Phan Xuan Thuy at the Conference summarizing 20 years of implementing Directive No. 42-CT/TU dated August 25, 2004 of the Central Secretariat on "Improving the overall quality of publishing activities" on the afternoon of August 26 in Hanoi .

The conference was organized by the Central Propaganda and Education Commission in coordination with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Vietnam Publishing Association. Head of the Central Propaganda and Education Commission Nguyen Trong Nghia attended and delivered a speech at the conference.

The publishing affiliate model loses its original meaning.

Speaking at the conference, Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission Phan Xuan Thuy affirmed that after 20 years of implementing Directive No. 42-CT/TW, publishing activities have achieved important and comprehensive achievements.

The conference summarizing 20 years of implementing Directive 42 received many suggestions for new changes in publishing policy - Photo: Organizing Committee

That is the capacity, potential and position of publishing that has been raised and developed in terms of scale, technology and level on par with the region.

The economic efficiency of the industry has many innovations, publications have increased in quantity and quality, the structure of topics is diverse and rich in both printed books and e-books or digital ecosystems such as: ebooks, audiobooks, podcasts, short videos...

The publishing economy has grown steadily, with strong developments in cooperation and exchange of copyright-related activities, and has made significant contributions to the state budget. However, Mr. Thuy also pointed out many limitations of the industry over the past 20 years.

That is, the number of books per capita only reached nearly 6 books/person in 2024, failing to achieve the target of 6 books/person/year by 2010 as set out in Directive 42.

After 20 years, the publishing industry still has a small production scale and business organization, difficulties in capital, human resources, and low economic efficiency.

The summary report on 20 years of implementing Directive 42 also points out the limitations of the current publishing linkage mechanism.

Management of joint activities is not strict, and there are no clear regulations on the responsibilities of each party participating in joint publishing.

This leads to the fact that some publishers lower management fees, loosen management, do not comply with the correct editing and manuscript review and publishing procedures, do not supervise affiliate partners, and completely leave affiliate products to the partners to decide.

The publishing association model has lost its original meaning. It also shows the weak capacity of some publishers when they rarely produce books themselves but instead outsource them to society.

Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission Phan Xuan Thuy summarizes the achievements and limitations of the publishing industry in 20 years of implementing Directive 42 - Photo: BTC

There needs to be a solution to build and develop a national reading culture.

To achieve the goals of the publishing industry, Mr. Phan Xuan Thuy suggested that the entire industry focus on key tasks such as innovating policy mechanisms, strengthening the development and training of high-quality human resources...

Especially the solution to build and develop a national reading culture. Because "there can be no development of the publishing industry without a reading culture".

“I suggest that you pay attention to this content to make timely proposals and recommendations, especially the Ministry of Education and Training coordinate with relevant agencies to direct the implementation of the reading period model in schools, in order to form the habit of reading for the young generation right from when they are still in school,” said Mr. Phan Xuan Thuy.

In a brief speech at the conference, Head of the Central Propaganda and Education Commission Nguyen Trong Nghia requested that it is necessary to focus on building a professional, humane, and modern publishing industry; considering publishing products not only to have cultural value but also to become a center for providing scientific knowledge for many fields.

At the conference, the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission awarded certificates of merit to 17 collectives with outstanding achievements in advising and organizing the implementation of Directive No. 42-CT/TU (2004-2024).

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/muc-tieu-so-ban-sach-tren-dau-nguoi-bi-cham-14-nam-20250826223326459.htm