Believing that books should be shared, a group of young Ho Chi Minh City residents have launched a book exchange project, placing boxes of free books in public places.

The initiators of the “Book Box” project have placed the first box of books at Air Lounge at 147 Ton Dat Tien, District 7, HCMC.

Anyone can read the books in these boxes, placed in cafés or on sidewalks, and take them home for as long as they wish.

All they need to do is replace the book they take with one of their own. The project initiators encourage readers to replace the books they take out with their own treasured tomes so that they can pass the value of good literature on to future readers.

Inspired by the launch of “little free libraries” in several countries, Phuong Huyen, a translator whose books are well-liked by local readers, transformed the model into her own “Book Box” community project in HCMC and has had plans to bring it to other provinces.

Several other youths including artist But Chi and her friends have also helped turn the project into reality.

“Quite a large number of book boxes will be placed around the city, depending on the quantity of books donated. Anyone is welcome to contribute their books,” Huyen said.

Those interested can visit the project’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/#!/bookboxvn?fref=ts, for detailed information on how to contribute.

Warm embrace

Though recently launched, the project has been warmly embraced by locals.

“The model is such a brilliant idea, and teaches us how to share and give away what we highly value,” Loan Vo, a local reader, commented on the project’s Facebook page.

“Initially, people may donate worthless books out of selfishness, but I believe that in the long run, more valuable books will appear in the boxes, as deep within ourselves, we’re urged to share with others what we find most intriguing and helpful.”

A student in Hoa Lac, Hanoi also expressed her wish that a book box be launched on her university campus to create an atmosphere that promotes reading.

Declining reading culture

Experts have recently raised concerns that the reading culture in Vietnam is declining as in other parts of the world. The rapid development of the Internet, music, and electronic games are blamed for the reversal, critics said.

Local youths, including intellectuals, have shown a dwindling interest in reading books.

Students generally read intensively for certain projects and exams, but desert libraries and bookstores soon after.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism announced in April of last year that the average Vietnamese person reads a mere 0.8 of a book (less than one book) per year, basing its calculations on reports by local libraries.

The country has recently chosen April 21 as Vietnam’s Book Day to rekindle locals’ waning interest in books and boost the local reading culture.