Reading culture in the 4.0 era

Reading is considered one of the fastest ways for each person to access information, culture and knowledge. Maintaining the habit of reading and building a reading culture not only helps us improve our knowledge but also contributes to perfecting our skills and personality. However, with the strong development of information technology, many people prioritize searching for information on modern devices such as computers, smartphones, etc. In order for traditional reading culture not to be "outdone", many solutions have been implemented to bring reading culture up to date with the trend in the 4.0 era.

Diem Thuy High School (Phu Binh) built an additional mobile library to serve students' reading needs.

Electronic books and newspapers "reign"

With the strong explosion of information technology, reading electronic newspapers and social networks is increasingly flourishing, becoming a habit of a large number of readers, especially young people. At a coffee shop on Bac Son Street, we easily encountered many customers sipping drinks while attentively using their mobile phones to read information. Mr. Tran Manh Khoi, at address 252, Viet Bac Street ( Thai Nguyen City) said: I often read news on electronic newspapers because the updates are very fast and multi-dimensional.

As Mr. Khoi shared, with e-books and newspapers, readers only need a smart device such as a mobile phone, tablet... with an internet connection to be able to read all kinds of books and newspapers at any location, from school, office or to coffee shops. It is like a "mobile library" that helps readers save both time and money. Instead of having to spend time searching and choosing books and newspapers that suit their needs, readers only need to search on smart device applications to have a series of related information to choose from.

Not only reading books and electronic newspapers with their eyes, many people also tend to update information through audiobooks or podcasts because of advantages such as: The ability to download and listen anytime, anywhere and rewind; can be hands-free to listen while doing other things, limiting the impact on eyesight when having to look at the screen for a long time... Mr. Nguyen Huy Quang, in group 10, Hoang Van Thu ward (Thai Nguyen city) said: As a rather busy person, I have little time to read printed books and newspapers. In my free time, I often read information via mobile phone or listen to podcasts. I find listening and reading newspapers via the internet very convenient and the information is rich.

Book cafes attract many young people.

Don't let traditional reading culture be "overshadowed"

The advantages of e-books and newspapers in the era of 4.0 technology cannot be denied. Especially when there is newly discovered information or newly published best-selling printed books, e-books and newspapers are quickly updated and most of them are shared for free. However, after decades of e-books and newspapers, reading in the traditional way is still a cultural beauty that is preserved and has a certain position.

“Regardless of what job you do, you need to read. People who are just learning to read need to read to avoid becoming blind again, police officers need to read to grasp the situation. Professionals need to read to improve their skills. Managers and leaders need to read to manage and lead better. Journalists and writers need to read even more...” - President Ho Chi Minh .

Visiting the reading room of Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thi Viet Trung, Vice President of the Association of Women Intellectuals of Thai Nguyen province, we were really surprised and delighted by her "fortune". In a small room of less than 10 square meters are bookcases with thousands of books arranged, classified scientifically and neatly. Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thi Viet Trung said: The reading room is a wonderful relaxing space for the family. Books not only help me and my family members connect emotionally, nourish our souls but also equip each person with a rich life experience to confidently step out into the world.

<strong>Assoc. Prof. Dr. TRAN THI VIET TRUNG, Vice President of the Association of Women Intellectuals of Thai Nguyen Province: </strong><em>In each book, not only are there the experiences of the writer, but it also suggests many new, good things, and humanistic values. Therefore, no means can replace my hobby and habit of reading printed books...</em>

Assoc. Prof. Dr. TRAN THI VIET TRUNG, Vice President of the Association of Women Intellectuals of Thai Nguyen Province: In each book, not only are there the experiences of the writer, but it also suggests many new, good things, and humanistic values. Therefore, no means can replace my hobby and habit of reading printed books...

Preserving a reading culture is not only important in families but also in schools. To arouse and foster a love of reading for students, many schools have focused on implementing a variety of activities. Notable activities include: Propagating the role of books in life; mobilizing students to donate books, building classroom bookcases; organizing a book festival and reading culture; building a mobile library... Ms. Chu Thi Diem, Vice Principal of Diem Thuy High School (Phu Binh) said: In addition to organizing activities related to books, the school also regularly instructs teachers to propagate to students to raise awareness of protecting and preserving books and forming the habit of reading every day; educating students to actively "make friends" with books to increase their knowledge.

Learning more in other places, we understand more clearly why traditional reading culture still maintains its own position. Especially when we have the opportunity to experience and meet many book lovers in some book cafes in the province. In the quiet space, everyone is immersed in the world of convincing words. Customers are mainly students and office workers. That shows a good sign, that is, there are still many young people who love books in the current era of technology. Ms. Tran Thi Huong, in group 10, Thinh Dan ward (Thai Nguyen city) said: On weekends, I often go to book cafes to read or buy a few of my favorite books. Reading books is not only relaxing, has a lot of useful knowledge but also helps me practice perseverance and patience in work and life.

Student DAM THI QUYNH TRANG, Faculty of Literature, Thai Nguyen University of Education: The library system needs to digitize books and documents, use the Internet; regularly update good books on the website system so that readers can read directly by phone or computer, which will create a good effect and attract more readers...

Combine to catch the trend

Since the explosion of information technology and the development of the 4.0 industrial revolution, people have gradually changed the way they receive information from traditional books and newspapers to modern audio-visual media. This has made traditional reading culture less attractive. Many solutions have been implemented to help reading culture catch up with the new trend.

It is a fact that in order to build a reading culture in the community, in addition to propaganda and mobilization, each person needs to be trained from a young age and the school is the ideal environment to form the habit of reading. Therefore, the library is always considered the "heart" of each school. In the era of information technology development, many schools have been investing in their "heart" by promoting digital transformation, integrating technology into the library so that students and teachers can research and search for documents in both traditional and modern ways. Typically, at Thai Nguyen High School for the Gifted, in addition to regularly adding books and printed newspapers to the library, the unit also built an electronic library. Ms. Tran Thi Gai, librarian of Thai Nguyen High School for the Gifted, said: The school has invested in 10 new computers with internet connection for the library and provided accounts for all teachers and students. Users do not necessarily need to be present at the library, but only need a computer or phone with internet connection to read school documents when needed.

For the Provincial Library, which has the function of preserving the nation's literary heritage; collecting, storing, organizing the exploitation and common use of documents in society to disseminate knowledge, provide information to serve the learning, research and entertainment needs of all classes of people... digital transformation is even more concerned. Accordingly, the Provincial Library has advised the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to submit to the Provincial People's Committee a plan on implementing the "Digital transformation program for the library sector to 2025, with a vision to 2030" in the province. Following the plan for implementation, the unit has initially achieved some results such as: Relatively complete information technology equipment; digitizing nearly 69,000 pages of Thai Nguyen geographical documents and building a digital collection of ancient documents in the province with a total of 150 document units which are royal decrees... Mr. Pham Minh Tuan, Deputy Director of the Provincial Library said: Currently, we are implementing the construction of the Thai Nguyen Provincial Digital Library according to the model of linking the Provincial Library with district-level libraries. Each district-level unit will be provided with an access link, account and password to perform operations with this system.

It can be seen that, with the strong development of technology, e-books have become a trend of the times, but traditional printed books still exist as an indispensable means to disseminate information and knowledge. In order for traditional reading culture to develop and become a beauty in the community, in addition to the efforts of all levels and sectors, each person needs to practice the habit of reading to improve knowledge, train thinking and skills for themselves.

Basic goals by 2025 of Thai Nguyen province regarding the digital transformation program of the library sector in the area:

- 100% of public libraries complete and develop digital infrastructure and digital data.

- 80% of specialized libraries and other university libraries; 60% of district, city, town libraries, and other educational institution libraries have websites.

-70% of ancient and rare documents and document collections of special value in history, culture, and science; internal documents and scientific research works are digitized.

- 100% of librarians are trained and updated with knowledge and skills in operating modern libraries, ensuring compliance with requirements.

- 60% of libraries in the province are inspected and managed through the information management system.

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