In an attempt to encourage pupils to read more books, many primary schools in Da Nang’s Hai Chau District have recently opened outdoor libraries. 

Nui Thanh school pupils reading books during a break

The Phu Dong Primary School is a typical example.  Several bookcases, with up to 40 story books in each, are placed under large green trees in the school yard.  This has made the school pupils feel comfortable whilst reading books during their break times.  

Every week, the school’s library staff add new books in order to diversify the types of books and make pupils more interested.

In addition to the outdoor bookcases, the school has launched a ‘My Class’s Library’ movement.  As a result, each class has a bookcase and a librarian.  The bookcase, which is decorated with many eye-catching animated images, features many types of books including comic and life skills books.

Ms Pham Thi Trang, the deputy headmistress of the school, said that her school has launched a movement to appeal for school pupils to contribute their books to expand their school’s range of books.  Thanks to this, the school collected nearly 2,000 children’s books during the 2015 - 2016 academic year.

The ‘outdoor bookcase’ model has also been implemented effectively in the Nui Thanh and Kim Dong primary schools. 

Duong Nhat Khanh, a Year 5 pupil at the Nui Thanh School, remarked “I usually read books from the outdoor library in my school yard.  There are many good comic books and a spacious reading area”.

The school’s headmistress, Ms Huynh Thi Thu Nguyet, said that her school’s computer rooms are always open during break time to allow her pupils to read their favourite books online.

Ms Nguyen Thi Minh, headmistress of the Kim Dong School, noted that her school sometimes appeals to its pupils and their parents to donate school and story books to the school’s libraries and to poor school pupils.  The school’s Parent’s Association donates hundreds of books every year.

Ms Tran Thi Thuy Ha, Head of the Hai Chau District Education and Training Office, said that the opening of ‘outdoor libraries’ has helped to promote a reading culture at local schools and develop good reading habits amongst pupils.