Applying digital transformation to foster reading culture

"Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day" will be widely celebrated across the country from April 15 to May 1. In particular, a book fair to highlight the importance of books will be held in Hanoi from April 17 to 21.

Reading books helps children to develop their thinking and to build a good personality. Photo: Hanoi Book Street

According to the Ministry of Information and Communication, this year's Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day will be held under various themes, including: "Good books need readers"; "Precious books for you"; "Give good books - buy real books"; and "Good books can be read and listened to".

Nguyen Manh Hung, Minister of Information and Communications, said that digital transformation is now being strongly applied in the country's publishing, printing, and bookselling industries.

"Books are being published in parallel in both physical and virtual spaces. Technological innovations are transforming physical space. Meanwhile, books published in cyberspace reach readers further and faster," he said.

The application of digital technology is an inevitable step for the publishing industry for two reasons, according to Nguyen Nguyen, Director of the Department of Publishing, Printing and Distribution under the Ministry of Information and Communications. First, with the advent of smart devices and increasingly convenient reading devices, some reading habits have changed. Second, the entire process of creating, editing, printing, and distributing books is undergoing a major shift from print to e-books.

Hanoi's Hoan Kiem Book Street.

The publishing industry is now embracing digital technology to digitize data and work processes and to create big data. Publishers are also developing a common electronic publishing and distribution platform to reduce investment costs and offset depreciation.

Meanwhile, artificial intelligence (AI) is being widely applied to book editing and converting printed books into audiobooks with different voices suitable for all audiences in all regions, enriching the products of the publishing industry.

This year's Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day will include various book promotion activities, including Traditional Book Fairs; Online Book Fairs; Traditional Cyberspace Book Fairs; Cashless Payment Book Fairs; and others.

Promoting books and reading culture in electronic newspapers and social networks will also be encouraged.

The Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day, now in its third year, is held every year to promote and develop the reading movement in the community and contribute to building a learning society.

It also reaffirms the place, role, and importance of books in improving knowledge and skills, and honors readers, authors, publishers, printers, and libraries who strive to preserve, collect, and promote books.