Regarding the information that the Institute of Han Nom Studies (IHN) lost more than 100 books, on the evening of March 20, the Institute sent information to the press.
During the document inventory from mid-2022, the Institute of Han Nom Studies inventoried the entire Han Nom book collection. However, for a part of the collected books (ST) that had not been restored, but were still bundled in bundles in the warehouse, the inventory team only counted them without comparing them with the individual registration book. Therefore, in early 2023, the Institute of Han Nom Studies inventoried the entire ST collection, compared them, and marked them in the individual registration book.
After the review and comparison process, on the afternoon of March 15, the Inventory Council met and reported to the ST warehouse, discovering that 121 books were missing (including 11 books in the list of 25 books reported to the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences ), in addition, there were 339 books that had been entered into the books but the book symbols were mixed up, it was not clear whether they included the 121 missing books or not.
The inventory team reviewed all 17,712 ST books and determined that 877 books (5%) were severely damaged. The Institute of Han Nom Studies organized a situation announcement to the Party cell and key staff as well as the Scientific Council in two meetings on the morning of March 16 and the morning of March 17.
To clarify the issue, the Institute of Han Nom Studies is inviting experts to compare books and symbols with missing books for screening; at the same time, a council is being set up to assess the condition of 877 damaged books to come up with appropriate solutions.
Regarding the loss of 25 documents reported by the media at the end of 2022, the Institute of Han Nom Studies promptly reported the situation to the Academy and sent a dispatch to the police agency requesting clarification of the matter. The police agency is currently investigating.
"The Institute of Han Nom Studies has been organizing measures to handle the issue openly and transparently, with a high sense of responsibility, while clearly defining the responsibilities of relevant groups and individuals," the Institute's press release stated.
A digitized Han Nom document. (Photo: Institute of Han Nom Studies)
Previously, on the morning of December 21, 2022, the Institute of Han Nom Studies issued a statement about the loss of 25 ancient books kept at this agency.
Accordingly, the loss of 25 books is being resolved by the organization, information has been made public within the unit and reported to superiors.
A representative of the Institute of Han Nom Studies said that according to information reported by relevant departments, around March-April 2020, the book warehouse management staff discovered signs that some books could not be found in the prescribed positions on the shelves.
At the time of discovery, the COVID-19 epidemic was complicated. However, immediately after receiving the information, the Institute's leaders worked with the book warehouse manager to rectify and plan solutions to adjust the book management process to avoid loss; at the same time, they planned a general inventory to find lost books and cross-check all other documents stored at the Institute.
By April 2022, after being able to restore normal working conditions, the Institute conducted a general inventory of all Han Nom books. This was the first general inventory in more than 10 years. After 3 months of inspection, the Institute discovered that 29 books (loosely bound books) were missing from the shelves, including 13 books from warehouses A and V, and 16 books from warehouse ST. In addition, 6 stone tablets were also missing.
The entire incident was reported in detail at the Party Cell meeting and the meeting of Key Staff and the Scientific Council of the agency on July 14 and 15, 2022.
Cover of Toan Viet Thi Luc kept at the National Library of Vietnam.
The Institute continued to check and found 4 more books (due to being placed in the wrong place on the shelf). The total number of books not found on the shelf (lost or misplaced) was 25. Regarding the stele copies, 4 copies were found (placed in the wrong place), 2 copies were lost but there were backup copies available for use.
By September 30, 2022, the Institute had signed a document handing over the book warehouse to the new manager. At the same time, the Institute had organized the construction of partitions to divide the warehouses, changed the original book management process, and assigned specific warehouse management responsibilities to avoid the risk of further document loss.
After that, the Institute will continue to inventory the book warehouse at the Library (including Vietnamese and foreign language books, not Han Nom books) to conduct a general inventory of documents. The Institute plans to report a summary of all documents, including Han Nom documents and new documents. The inventory of new books at the Library is expected to be completed in early 2023.
On the afternoon of December 19, 2022, the Institute held a meeting to summarize the unit, and in the summary report, it announced the content of 25 books. Representatives of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences attending the summary meeting directed the Institute to continue to review and find books and determine the responsibilities of relevant parties.
About the history of the collection (ST)
At the Institute of Han Nom Studies, there are book warehouses with the symbol A (collected by the French) and the symbol V (collected by the Vietnamese), these two groups have a total of about 16,302 units. In addition, the Institute of Han Nom Studies organizes the collection of more Han Nom books, with the symbol ST (collected). According to the records, there were 2 collection periods: the first period from 1988-2001 (23 years) collected 2,586 books; the second period from 2002-2008 (7 years) collected 15,126 books. The total of the two collection periods is 17,712 units of books. The purchase price according to state regulations at the time of collection is from 100,000 - 200,000 VND per book, depending on the condition of the book. Up to now, the Institute of Han Nom Studies has restored nearly 10,000 units.
Minh Anh
Useful
Emotion
Creative
Unique
Wrath
Source
Comment (0)