On the occasion of Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day (April 21st), Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Binh had an exchange with Thua Thien Hue Weekly about the development orientation to make Hue Bookcase a unique product of Hue culture.
Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Binh. Photo: MINH DUC
Sir, what has the Hue Bookcase project accomplished so far since its formation one year ago?
The project "Establishing and developing Hue Bookcase" has issued a specific implementation plan to 2025, with orientation to 2030; among which, some particular targets include publishing 10 new publications per year on average to incorporate into Hue Bookcase, while at the same time, assigning specific responsibilities to relevant units to jointly organize the implementation, with the Department of Culture and Sports being the leading unit.
The first publication of Hue Bookcase was published in 2021 and received the attention and feedback of experts and researchers. This is a good sign, for it shows that people are very interested in Hue Bookcase. As a result, this promises that many contributions would be made so that the bookcase could become better and better, thereby actively contributing to the preservation and promotion of Hue cultural values and Hue people in the new period.
On April 16th, two new publications of Hue Bookcase, namely "Hue - The Capital of Ao dai Vietnam" and "Hue Singing - National Intangible Cultural Heritage", were released to readers on Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day.
Hue Bookcase was formed to meet the expectations of many people, for it selected many precious books about Hue for publication and republication. Selecting valuable books is a way to build a brand for Hue Bookcase. So how are the criteria for evaluating and selecting works so as not to omit the precious books while not choosing the wrong ones?
With the goal of gathering, preserving, and introducing precious books and documents about Thua Thien Hue, Hue Bookcase selects only quality books, in both forms and contents, with high concentration of knowledge and cultural values. Therefore, works selected to be included in Hue Bookcase must meet strict criteria and selection process.
Each publication selected to be included in Hue Bookcase has to undergo a specific, strict and transparent selection process. The Provincial People's Committee has established a Publication Selection Committee, an Executive Team and an Appraisal Team for Hue Bookcase, consisting of experts, researchers, and managers with extensive experience in many fields, at the same time, promulgating regulations on selection, management and exploitation of Hue Bookcase with regulations on selection criteria for publications that must be consistent with current law provisions.
Based on the proposed list of up-to-now publications as well as new works added every year related to Thua Thien Hue in all fields, namely politics, economy, culture, society, science, etc., the selection committee will select works of high value which meet the criteria of Hue Bookcase for the appraisal team to appraise their contents and forms before printing.
Hue Bookcase will come to all readers in the form of " books not for sale"
Many book-loving readers think that Hue Bookcase contains precious books, but it is difficult to access such books because they have not been available to the public. So how can we better the promotion and spread the value of Hue Bookcase so that these books can be brought into play in the lives of Hue people, sir?
From the very beginning of the implementation process, we expect that Hue Bookcase will introduce and promote Hue's image through books and form a gift set with cultural significance of the ancient capital, thereby building a scientific database for the study of Thua Thien Hue in all fields and serving the construction of Thua Thien Hue into a cultural and heritage city directly under control of the Central Government. At the same time, already-published books will be republished whereas new valuable and quality works related to Thua Thien Hue in all fields will be ordered for publication.
Hue bookcase will come to all readers in the form of "books not for sale". In order to promote and spread the value of Hue Bookcase in the lives of Hue people, we have been adopting the method of approaching readers directly through the system of libraries, schools, reading points, book fairs, seminars, book talks, book giveaways, together with through various channels and websites. Readers can easily find books in display and reading service channels completely free of charge.
The Provincial People's Committee has just issued a plan to implement the project "Establishing and developing Hue Bookcase" for the period 2022-2025. What solutions will the Province adopt to achieve the goals set out in the plan?
Hue Bookcase is a practical project that contributes to preserving and promoting Hue cultural values and Hue people. According to the plan from now to the end of 2025, it sets the aims of publishing an average of 10 publications each year, forming Hue Electronic Bookcase (Hue Bookcase App) to serve readers anytime and anywhere, turning Hue Bookcase into a special product of Hue cultural values for people within the country and abroad, making it a unique gift set of Hue.
To do that, first of all, all departments, agencies, localities, researchers, critics and readers must have faith, work together, and agree to coordinate in the implementation process. In addition, valuable research works on Hue in all fields and professions must be gathered. At the same time, it is necessary to regularly supplement, select and appraise research works so that Hue Bookcase becomes a unique product with high concentration of accurate and standard values.
In addition to the State's resources, it is very important to socialize and mobilize contributions from organizations and individuals, as well as other sources of funding to support the development of Hue Bookcase. How can Hue Bookcase Development Fund effectively mobilize contributions from socialization sources, sir?
To develop Hue Bookcase, it is necessary to take advantage of the contributions and coordination of organizations and individuals in addition to the State resources.
Up to now, Hue Bookcase has recognized the aspirations of many authors, researchers, organizations, and units in charge of implementing research projects, and proposed to include their research work in Hue Bookcase. If those works meet the criteria of Hue Bookcase and their values are high enough, they will be selected to be published with Hue Bookcase logo attached to them. The publication of these will be done by means of socialization.
In addition, the already-formed Hue Bookcase Development Fund is calling for donations and participations from organizations and individuals and has received a part of the implementation budget for 2022. The fund will continue to call for support for the sake of the successful implementation of the plan.
With the above-mentioned efforts, I hope that Hue Bookcase will be well-received and highly appreciated, becoming a unique product of Hue culture.
Thank you, Sir!
By MINH HIEN
Photos: MINH HIEN, BAO MINH