A small flame holds great knowledge.

Community libraries are not a new model, but in recent years, as the movement to build cultural life at the grassroots level has been promoted, many localities in the province have proactively developed private libraries and renovated libraries in residential areas in a practical way that suits the actual needs of the people. These models all have in common: small scale, flexible methods, and a foundation based on voluntarism and community responsibility.

Residents of Ve Thon village (Dinh Tan commune) consult legal documents at the village's legal library.

In Hamlet 5, Xuan Lap Commune, the Ha Duy Dat Library, run by Mr. Ha Duy Son's family, is well-known as a familiar knowledge-sharing hub for the community. Officially opened in 2015, the library consisted of just a few bookshelves filled with books collected by Mr. Son's family. Today, it boasts 2,300 books covering various fields such as culture, life skills, general science, children's books, and materials for agricultural production. The library is open daily and provides free services to all residents of the commune.

Mr. Son shared: “We wanted to create a small library where people could come to read and borrow books, simply like visiting a neighbor. As long as we take care of the books and care for each other, the reading space will function effectively. The book collection is diverse thanks to the support and contributions from family members and some local residents. Since the beginning of the year, the library has added 15 titles, totaling 250 copies, meeting the reading needs of all ages.” To date, Mr. Son's family library has become a familiar destination for students every afternoon and for elderly people seeking to rediscover the traditional habit of reading newspapers and books. The friendly and welcoming atmosphere of the library has contributed to spreading the habit of reading among the local people.

While not possessing the vast collection of books like the Ha Duy Dat Library, the bookshelf in Ve Thon village (Dinh Tan commune) is also a familiar reading spot for many residents thanks to its convenience, neat arrangement, and welcoming atmosphere. Over 250 books are clearly categorized and regularly replenished through book donations and social contributions. In addition to daily borrowing and returning of books, the village also incorporates the dissemination of knowledge on law, health , agriculture, and other topics into some reading sessions.

Mr. Trinh Dinh Van, secretary and head of Ve Thon village, said: “The bookshelf helps villagers have more official information on legal knowledge, science , and agriculture; children have a place to read healthy stories, and village officials have an additional means of propaganda. In addition, the bookshelf is also labeled with a QR code so people can access online reading websites. This small model has a clear effect in people applying knowledge to farming and livestock raising. Thanks to its regular maintenance, the bookshelf has become a cultural anchor of the village, connecting the community and helping to form a reading habit for the younger generation.”

It is evident that the most notable aspect of community bookshelf models is their flexibility and convenience. To refresh the bookshelves and meet the reading needs of the people, several villages in Dinh Tan commune have proactively connected with schools to obtain a richer collection of books from school libraries. According to Ms. Dong Thi Lien, Head of the Culture and Social Affairs Department of the Dinh Tan Commune People's Committee: To date, all 18 villages in the commune have bookshelves, effectively meeting the needs of the people. These small-scale bookshelves play a crucial role in improving the quality of education. Local residents, primarily engaged in agriculture, no longer need to travel far to find materials on livestock farming and cultivation; children have access to more reading material; and women and young people have access to career guidance books, skill-building books, and legal books. In reality, operating bookshelves in residential areas still faces many challenges, but most villages have been flexible and proactive in mobilizing social resources to supplement the book collection and meet the actual needs of the people. To maintain the effectiveness of the libraries, the commune has also supported the villages in guiding them in cataloging books, preserving materials, and recording book borrowing and returning. Organizations such as the youth union and women's association have also been mobilized to participate in their operation, from cleaning and posting regulations to organizing thematic activities.

Despite positive results, community library activities in some residential areas of the province still face many difficulties such as: the supply of supplementary books still depends mainly on social contributions; limited funds for preservation; lax management of borrowing and returning books in some places; and thematic activities not taking place regularly due to a lack of personnel... In particular, many libraries lack updated books on high-tech agriculture, digital transformation, and community health - fields that are rapidly changing and of interest to the people.

In the context of building grassroots cultural life associated with the New Rural Development program, community libraries play a crucial role in contributing to raising the intellectual level of the people, promoting a healthy cultural environment, and fostering solidarity in residential areas. And, despite many difficulties, models like the Ha Duy Dat Library or the Ve Thon village library have proven that when the local authorities care and the people are united, knowledge can be nurtured in very simple ways. This ensures that the library – a small "flame" – not only survives but also truly becomes meaningful to the lives of the people, contributing to the development of reading culture in modern society.

Text and photos: Hoai Anh

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/ngon-lua-nho-giu-tri-thuc-lon-270972.htm