Last year, during Book and Reading Culture Week, we were fortunate to be in a special space – an open-air library right on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai street, on the other side of the Japanese Bridge. The "open bookshelves," mobile book carts, and small bookshelves placed along the roadside evoked the atmosphere of Hoi An's book-reading days of several decades ago. People could stop for a few minutes, flip through a few pages, and then continue on their way, enjoying a relaxing reading experience.
Looking back, outdoor reading spaces today are not entirely new to Hoi An. Historically, this city was a bustling trading port from the 15th to the 19th centuries, a melting pot of cultures and knowledge. Reading, note-taking, and exchanging knowledge were once an integral part of the lives of merchants, intellectuals, and the local community.
In the memories of many, Hoi An once had small bookstores, printing houses, and private collections of documents. Knowledge was preserved and passed on systematically within families and communities.
In his memoirs, Mr. Huynh Thuc Khang recounted that Mr. Phan Chau Trinh once read modern books in Hoi An, which sparked the Duy Tan (Modernization) movement, a movement whose significance remains relevant today. Also, as early as the 1920s, the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association in Hoi An fostered a love of reading to spread patriotic ideas through revolutionary books and newspapers, yielding many positive results.
Hoi An also prioritizes creating favorable conditions for the collection, research, identification, and promotion of heritage values, developing many community libraries, family libraries, and reading groups. Books on collection and research by Hoi An authors are always highly appreciated by the public and have won numerous awards from the provincial to the national level. This is a favorable condition for this region to continue its story of open reading spaces.
Community reading spots in Hoi An reflect the trend of bringing reading culture back into daily life. Books are present on the streets and at tourist spots, helping to rekindle the love of reading. After placing book carts on street corners, a community reading spot open daily at 62 Bach Dang Street (Hoi An Ward) has become a popular destination for many tourists.
Broadly speaking, the spirit of extending reading is being pursued by many communities. In Da Nang , the library system is witnessing a significant transformation. The Da Nang Library has gone beyond simply storing physical books and has built a digitized database with tens of thousands of documents, ranging from books, newspapers, and magazines to local history materials. Readers can now access materials online, search remotely, and even read books on mobile devices. This is especially important in the context of young people becoming increasingly dependent on the digital environment.
Book festivals have also been organized in many localities, aiming to encourage people to seek out books. From central city wards to more remote areas, efforts have been made to convey the spirit of passion for reading through community activities.
In addition, numerous activities have been held in Da Nang to celebrate Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day 2026, demonstrating a trend towards making reading an experience. Events such as the "Reading Culture Ambassador" competition, book fairs, storytelling based on books, and themed book exhibitions serve both to introduce books and to create interaction with books for the people.
The most sustainable measure of a reading culture is when reading becomes a natural part of life.
Source: https://baodanang.vn/noi-dai-viec-doc-3333651.html
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