Digital libraries gain popularity 

Recently, online digital libraries have gained popularity both at home and abroad and are proving useful for researchers, students as well as readers. 

Sachxua.net is a popular website at home which introduces e-books of famous ancient works which have fallen into oblivion for almost a century, such as the collection of techniques on wood-block printing entitled “Technique du peuple annamite” by Henri Oger(1907-1909) and also national language newspapers likely Nong Co Min Dam, Thanh Nghi (1941-1945), Nam Phong and Dong Duong.

There are also many other online libraries such as thuvienquocgia.vn, e-thuvien.com, ebook4u.vn and many more.

Sachxua.net does not digitalize books which are still in stock, respecting copyright laws.

The website www.bnf.fr of the National Library of France contains a grandiose treasure of more than 20,000 ancient documents and books on Vietnam dating from the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.

Amongst their valuable collection is the book titled “Les Jungles Moi” by Henri Maitre, published in 1912. It was the first research document on the Vietnamese ethnic groups of the Highlands.

The digitalized collection in Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan is said to have the world’s largest Kanji-Japanese dictionary and the largest number of Japanese and Chinese classic books.

Many projects on digitalizing books are currently underway to help readers gain access to ancient and rare works easily.

International seminar on amateur music to be held in HCM City   

An international seminar on don ca tai tu (southern amateur music) and its impromptu harmony will be held in Ho Chi Minh City on January 9-11, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism.

The event is part of the project on southern music submitted to UNESCO for recognition as an intangible part of the Vietnamese cultural heritage.

Local traditional music researchers, administrators, musicians, don ca tai tu artisans, together with music experts from France, Germany, Cyprus, Malaysia, Japan, Korea and Singapore will join the seminar.

The Ministry, the Vietnam Music Institute and Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism, have jointly organized the event.

Hanoi receives 215 objects excavated from Thang Long Citadel 

The Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences on Tuesday handed over 215 objects excavated from the Thang Long Citadel archaeological site, to the Hanoi People’s Committee.

The objects are displayed in a showroom on the first floor of the Department of Operation’s headquarter in Hanoi.

Dr Bui Minh Tri, chairperson of the citadel excavation project, said that the objects found at the site, 18 Hoang Dieu, had up to a million items.

The above 215 items, are the most typical for each historical phase of the citadel, through many centuries of dynasties, he said.

Award-winning documentary to be screened

The Vietnamese documentary “Always beside you,” which won top honors at the first Vietnam International Film Festival last year, will be screened at the French Cultural Exchange Center, L’Espace, in Hanoi, January 14.

Directed by Nguyen Thi Kim Hai, the film narrates the story of a mother and her only son, Phuong, who has cancer. They experience some happiness amid all the pain.

Hai was inspired to make the film by a visit to a pediatric hospital where he met Phan Thanh Phuong and his mother who both had leukemia.

The film was made without a script and has just the characters speaking.

Tickets are available at L’Espace, 24 Trang Tien Street.

PV