A person wholeheartedly dedicated to reading culture.

Director of Bac Ninh Library No. 1, Nguyen Dac Hong (second from the right), interacts with readers at a book exhibition.

Born in 1976 in a village in the Kinh Bac region, Mr. Nguyen Dac Hong has dedicated his entire career to the field of libraries. For him, libraries are not just places to store books, but also a flame that ignites a passion for reading in the community.

After nearly 20 years of service, in 2018, Mr. Hong was entrusted by the leadership with the position of Director of the Library. At that time, the Bac Giang Provincial Library (formerly) was a dilapidated building with limited books and rudimentary facilities. “I remember in the early days, the library had over 100,000 books, and the readers were mainly students; very few adult readers. I thought, how can we ensure that books don't just sit idle on the shelves but ‘come alive’ in people's hands?” Mr. Hong recalled with eyes shining with enthusiasm.

A vivid story he often tells about the Spring Newspaper Fair of the Year of the Snake 2025. Amidst the biting cold of the Tây Yên Tử winter, he and his colleagues diligently arranged art books and displayed over 600 online newspaper publications. His hard work and dedication, along with that of the library staff, were rewarded when over 5,000 readers visited, and the website showcasing the Spring newspapers attracted 50,022 visits. “There was a mountain boy who was so engrossed in the books that he refused to leave the booth… At that moment, I knew I was doing the right thing,” he added.

The Bac Giang library system has developed significantly, with the total number of books increasing from tens of thousands to over 200,000, encompassing 10 district libraries, 54 commune libraries, and more than 600 community book collections. Mr. Hong places particular emphasis on developing a reading culture. The Reading Culture Ambassador competition, which he helped organize since 2019, has become a major platform, attracting 144,467 entries from 315 schools by 2025 alone, and numerous Reading Culture Ambassadors have emerged from these competitions.

Notably, from 2019 to 2025, the Bac Giang Library (formerly) consistently ranked among the top 10 nationwide in terms of the number of entries and competition awards. Furthermore, Mr. Hong has been innovative in mobilizing social resources for books. From 2018 to 2025, he has successfully mobilized over 20,000 books to donate to local libraries and schools throughout the province.

In 2025, the library circulated 129,215 books, exceeding the plan by 269%, reaching Ngoc Ly prison and remote mountainous areas such as Luc Ngan and Son Dong communes. These efforts helped Bac Giang (formerly) become a "leading light" in developing reading culture, with over 40,552 readers and 95,021 accesses to the electronic library.

In 2025, Bac Giang and Bac Ninh merged to form the (new) Bac Ninh province. The district-level library system was dissolved, many commune libraries had to be merged, and floods swept away books and destroyed infrastructure in many places. “At that time, I was heartbroken. Books rotted, bookshelves collapsed. But I thought, this is the time to act.” With the initiative “Promoting social mobilization and resource support,” he wrote an open letter appealing for donations, not accepting money but only books and bookshelves.

In just 20 days, through the Publishing Department, the Department of Grassroots Culture, the National Library of Vietnam, publishers, and individuals, he mobilized 4,366 books and 21 bookshelves, worth hundreds of millions of dong. These items were handed over to the libraries of Xuan Cam and Hoang Van communes, Mai Dinh and Tien Luc primary schools, and the Hiep Hoa commune police station, helping dozens of newly established commune libraries and schools to be restored and put into operation. His motto is "wherever there are readers, there are books."

Under his leadership, Bac Ninh Library No. 1 organized professional training for 140 officials from 88 out of 99 communes and wards, thereby helping nearly 30 communes issue decisions to establish new libraries. He also donated 1,300 books from social contributions to 12 units and 388 books to children who won prizes in the book-based painting competition; built unique community libraries such as: the Library of Six Teachings of Uncle Ho for the People's Police, the Vinh Nghiem Pagoda Library, the Library of the Temple of Doctor Than Nhan Trung, and is currently implementing the Library of Safe Zone II in Hiep Hoa...

Mr. Hong's contributions have been recognized through a series of awards, including being a "Model Worker at the grassroots level" for many consecutive years and receiving a Certificate of Merit from the Prime Minister in 2024. But for him, the greatest reward is the change in reading culture within the community. From a province with a small, struggling library, Bac Ninh Library No. 1 now has a widespread system with over 400,000 books and a strongly spreading reading culture.

Text and photos: DANG GIANG

Source: https://nhandan.vn/nguoi-het-long-voi-van-hoa-doc-post933397.html