Developing reading culture in rural areas: Need to squeeze through the "narrow door"

People of Ngu Phuong village go to the village's reading room for books and newspapers.

In Quang Xuong district, developing a reading culture is identified as one of the important goals in the process of building a cultural life at the grassroots level. In recent years, information technology (IT) has been growing strongly, preserving and spreading the habit of reading is a big challenge for many localities in the district, but there are still some notable bright spots. A typical example is Nguu Phuong village, Quang Khe commune - one of the models for developing a reading culture in rural areas, contributing to creating a new look for the spiritual life of the people here. Here, the reading room was renovated from a surplus village cultural house after the merger, officially put into operation from August 2023. The reading room space is up to 70m2, with hundreds of books and newspapers of all genres, meeting the reading needs of all ages.

Nguu Phuong village chief Le The Phan said: “Since the reading room was renovated to be spacious and airy, local people have become more and more enthusiastic and come to read books regularly. Thanks to the attention of local organizations, individuals and children, the bookshelf is regularly supplemented with new books. Every day, from late afternoon to evening or on weekends, people coming here to read books has become a habit. Not only serving personal needs, the reading movement here also contributes to spreading to collective activities such as storytelling based on books, organizing book reading festivals”...

Besides the bright spot of Nguu Phuong village, the development of reading culture in most of the remaining villages in Quang Khe commune in particular, and rural and coastal areas of Quang Xuong district in general, still has many limitations. Director of the Center for Culture, Information, Sports and Tourism (VH,TT,TT&DL) of Quang Xuong district, Duong Thi Tuong Van, said: “The development of reading culture is of great interest to all levels, sectors and localities. The district Center for Culture, Information, Sports and Tourism annually mobilizes socialized sources to contribute books from readers and book companies; coordinates with the Provincial Library and book companies to circulate books to localities in many different fields, meeting the reading needs of the people. Despite such investment, most people in rural and coastal areas are still not interested in reading. In fact, the bookcases in these areas mainly attract retirees and the elderly to read books. There are even days when there are no readers.”

Despite remarkable efforts, the development of reading culture in many residential areas in Quang Xuong district still faces difficulties and limitations. This is also a common situation in many rural areas in the province. Clearly identifying the difficulties in developing reading culture, especially in rural areas, every year on the occasion of Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day (April 21), Tho Xuan district has organized many practical activities to promote the value, affirm the role, position and importance of books in improving knowledge and skills for people. In particular, propaganda work is promoted in many forms, focusing on clarifying the value, meaning and spirit of Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day according to each topic; launching a reading movement; introducing reading rooms... to spread reading culture among all classes of people. However, with the strong development of IT and social networks, the journey of developing a reading culture in residential areas in the district still has many limitations.

Head of the Department of Culture, Science and Information of Tho Xuan district, Le Van Luc, said: “People's lives are increasingly busy, electronic books and newspapers are considered a convenient solution. Along with that, investment funds for developing reading culture in rural areas are still limited, mainly relying on voluntary contributions from people or small, unstable funding sources. To develop reading culture in rural areas, the district has focused on propaganda work, interested in replicating good models and effective methods, and at the same time encouraged the development of private libraries."

Developing a reading culture in rural areas in the context of the current strong development of information technology is truly an arduous journey. However, from the "bright spots" of reading culture in the province such as the Reading Room of Nguu Phuong village (Quang Xuong), Book Street of Ward 7 (Bim Son town) or Ha Duyen Dat Book Library (Tho Xuan)... it shows that the "narrow doors" still have many opportunities to expand further if there is interest and participation from all levels, sectors, localities and the whole community.

Article and photos: Hoai Anh

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/phat-trien-van-hoa-doc-o-nong-thon-can-lach-qua-khe-cua-hep-246672.htm