Reading old books in the digital age

As electronic books and newspapers become more and more popular, many people still maintain the habit of reading and collecting old books and newspapers. For them, this is both a joy and a unique cultural beauty in the midst of the “digital lifestyle”.

Many valuable books and documents stained with time are carefully preserved at Ha Duyen Dat Library.

Ha Duyen Dat Library of Mr. Ha Duyen Son's family in Xuan Lai commune (Tho Xuan) was established in 2015. Up to now, the number of readers coming to the library is not only retirees but also many students and people in the commune. According to Mr. Son, the library was named after his grandfather - a revolutionary soldier who loved to read and collect precious books. The library was established with the desire to spread the values ​​from books, precious documents and develop reading culture in rural areas. Initially, the family's book collection had more than 400 books. Now, thanks to the contributions of children, grandchildren in the family and children living far away from home, the library has up to 8,000 books, with 2,400 titles. Entering the library space, those who have a passion for reading will be extremely surprised because a small private library contains a "treasure trove" of books and many valuable documents. There are books that have been stained by time, or royal decrees that are over 100 years old that Mr. Son has carefully preserved.

Mr. Son said: “Not only me but most of my children and grandchildren love reading and collecting books, especially old books and newspapers about culture and history. For me, my special passion is still books about history, in which the book History of Thanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee and books about my grandfather Ha Duyen Dat and the loyal revolutionary soldiers during the revolutionary activities are often read over and over again by me.”

As for collector and compiler of folklore Cao Son Hai (Thanh Hoa City), now nearly 90 years old, his eyesight is poor, but reading is still a special passion for him. Leading us to the bookshelf with thousands of books, pointing to Victor Hugo's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", he slowly shared: "These books are old but have great value, because the translation has an attractive writing style, the words are not limited to conventional thinking and are rich in emotions. To me, old books are like "old friends". He did not forget to tell us: "When you have time, you should read books like "How the Steel Was Tempered", "A Day for a Lifetime"... there are many interesting and useful things for the younger generation".

For Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Le, Librarian, Center for Culture, Information, Sports and Tourism of Sam Son City, reading books every day is both a job and a passion. For her, finding old books is finding beautiful memories.

“As a young person, I like to read and collect old books. There are books that I have read before, and now reading them again feels like meeting an old friend from childhood that I was very close to. There are also books and series that I used to like but could not afford to buy, so reading and collecting old books always has a special appeal to me. Those books not only help me expand my knowledge but also help nourish my soul in a life full of worries and concerns. Among them, the series “Kaleidoscope” by writer Nguyen Nhat Anh is full of wit, humor and profound life lessons, and is still my favorite series to this day,” said Ms. Le.

According to Ms. Le’s observation, with new books, people can “skim” to find information, but with those who look for old books, they will always spend a lot of time flipping through each page, pondering each word. Therefore, information from old books always has the attraction that makes readers remember longer, spending more time.

In the constant flow of modern life, finding old books not only satisfies the passion of book lovers, but also gradually becomes a beautiful feature of reading culture. Through the ups and downs of time, old books may no longer be intact and beautiful, but this is the link between the past and the present. Therefore, in recent years, in Thanh Hoa City and some localities in the province, events such as: Old Book Festival, Old Book Space, Old Book Festival... have regularly taken place and gradually become familiar meeting places, becoming a unique cultural space for those who are passionate about reading.

Article and photos: Hoai Anh

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/doc-sach-cu-nbsp-trong-thoi-dai-so-234070.htm