Libraries
When Việt Nam achieved independence in 1945 there was just one library serving the entire country. Today, under the overall guidance of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Library Department (Vụ Thư viện), the National Library of Việt Nam (Thư viện Quốc gia Việt Nam) oversees a network of 64 provincial and municipal libraries, 577 district libraries and some 7,000 commune and village libraries or book cabinets; a further c 7,000 reading rooms are attached to ‘post offices of culture’ run by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT); some 200 university and college libraries and over 17,000 libraries and reading rooms operate under the guidance of the Ministry of Education and Training; and numerous specialist libraries are attached to research institutes, government ministries and agencies and the armed forces.
However, Việt Nam’s library sector still faces a number of serious challenges, principally at local level where problems of inadequate premises, equipment, collections and standards of service, lack of specialist training and limited application of information technology continue to hamper development.
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