Building and spreading reading culture from family bookshelves

Practicing the habit of reading books from the family bookshelf is an effective and practical way to "sow the seeds" for self-study awareness.

Family - where love of reading is nurtured

As a librarian working at Ninh Binh Provincial Library (facility 3), Ms. Pham Thi Hue (Bao Loc 1 residential group, Phu Ly ward) always has a love for books, books are a close companion throughout her life and work. That love not only follows her in her daily life but also spreads to her children. Sharing the secret to cultivating reading habits, Ms. Hue said: "Today, the Internet is developing, children are easily attracted by technological devices such as TV, phones, iPads... leading to limited time for reading. Therefore, I proactively create reading sessions with my children from a young age so that parents can set an example, and at the same time form and maintain reading habits for them."

Every evening after school, Ms. Pham Thi Hue always spends time reading books with her children.

From that thought, every evening after school, Ms. Hue spends about 30 minutes reading books with her children. At first, the children were not interested, but thanks to Ms. Hue's perseverance and reasonable organization, the atmosphere of the reading session gradually became a time when the children were eager to "open the door" of knowledge with their mother. Accordingly, each child was allowed to choose a book according to their interests; after reading, each member would introduce and briefly share the content of the book they had read. In particular, Ms. Hue also regularly took turns borrowing many different books from the Provincial Library for the children to access a variety of knowledge. This method not only aroused interest, helped the children become more confident, but also turned reading into a meaningful activity, connecting family affection and nurturing a love of knowledge right from the home.

When families value reading, children grow up in an environment filled with knowledge and inspiration. Parents read not only to set an example, but also to share the joy of discovery with their children, broaden their horizons and nurture their souls. From the pages of books in the home, lifelong learning habits are formed, contributing to building a society that values knowledge and strives for true values in life.

Replicating “reading communities”

Not only stopping at reading books within each family, many families in the province have proactively created common reading spaces, shared books, and organized book exchanges in residential areas. From the "Family Bookcases", the reading movement has gradually spread, forming widespread "reading communities", contributing to building a healthy cultural life, connecting generations and arousing the spirit of lifelong learning in the community.

As a librarian at Quynh Luu Secondary School, Ms. Mai Thi Hue (Lai Cac village, Quynh Luu commune) is exposed to books every day and understands the value that reading brings, especially to children. Her love of books has been passed on to her children and then spread to the children in the village, so in June 2021, she opened a family bookshelf called "3B". The name "3B" is not only an abbreviation of the names of her three children Bong - Bi - Bo but also has a profound meaning "Begin Book Best" (Let's start with books to have the best things). Currently, the 3B bookshelf has about 1,000 books on many topics, mainly serving students in and outside the village.

Ms. Mai Hue organizes storytelling sessions, exchanges, and children's festivals to create interest in reading for students.

To encourage reading, Ms. Mai Hue also organizes storytelling sessions, exchanges, and children's festivals. From the 3B bookshelf, many children have formed the habit of reading, actively participating in reading movements at school and in the locality, contributing to spreading the love of books and fostering a reading culture in the community.

If the "3B bookshelf" spreads the love of books and reading culture to the main target audience of students, then the "Van Bui Family Bookshelf" (Trung Yen village, Yen Mo commune) of teacher Bui Van Dong, former Deputy Head of the Department of Education and Training of Yen Mo district (before the merger) has spread to many classes of people in and outside the province. Stemming from the passion for reading books and newspapers in a family rich in knowledge and the desire to share good books and spread reading culture to everyone, in April 2018, teacher Bui Van Dong devoted himself to sharing his family bookshelf to serve book lovers for free on weekends.

Teacher Bui Van Dong's "Van Bui Bookshelf" has more than 5,000 books, suitable for many different readers.

With about 1,000 initial titles, Van Bui's family bookshelf now has more than 5,000 titles with diverse genres including: literature, children's literature, research criticism, educational science, history, religion, books about Ninh Binh homeland and local authors... To serve more and more readers, he always spends time searching and calling on philanthropists to contribute more good books, suitable for each age group and the development of society. The valuable thing about "Van Bui's family bookshelf" is that there are many books collected from the 1970s of the last century, such as Em ke chuyen nay by Nguyen Hong Kien, Cam Tho and Tran Dang Khoa (Kim Dong Publishing House, 1971); Goc san va khong troi by Tran Dang Khoa (Kim Dong Publishing House, 1973)...

Currently, Teacher Bui Van Dong is managing more than 300 loan books of readers inside and outside the province.

Sharing about the bookshelf's activities, teacher Bui Van Dong said: "I am managing about 300 book lending books, with a very diverse readership, from primary school students to elderly men and women aged 70 and over. Most of the readers are people from neighboring communes, but there are also people from neighboring provinces such as Nghe An, Hung Yen... who come here, not only to borrow books to read but also to learn about the experience of building a bookshelf, selecting and classifying books, how to set up a lending book, and guiding readers in choosing books...

Not stopping at maintaining and sharing family bookshelves, teacher Bui Van Dong also connected with the program "Books for rural Vietnam", supporting the construction of more than 300 classroom bookshelves for more than 25 schools in the province to help promote the reading movement in schools, spreading the spirit of lifelong learning in the community.

It can be seen from the family bookcases of Mr. Bui Van Dong, Ms. Pham Thi Hue, Ms. Mai Thi Hue, that developing a reading culture from each "Family Bookcase" is a specific way to realize the goal of building a learning society and comprehensively developing Vietnamese people in the new era. When each family becomes a "reading cell", each residential area forms a "reading community", reading culture will permeate deeply into life, becoming an important spiritual driving force to promote the development of culture, people and social knowledge of Ninh Binh province.

Tran Giang

Source: https://baoninhbinh.org.vn/xay-dung-lan-toa-van-hoa-doc-tu-nhung-tu-sach-gia-dinh-251014141514727.html