Requirements for establishment of provincial public libraries in Vietnam

Specifically, according to the Decree No. 93/2020/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, requirements for establishment of provincial public libraries are specified as follows:

1. Setting the goals of organizing and operating a library which are appropriate and fit into the functions and tasks specified in Clause 1 and 2 of Article 11 in the Law on Libraries; accepting target users, including organizations or individuals wishing to use libraries within a province or centrally-run city.

2. Having at least 200,000 volumes with at least 50,000 titles of books, including digital materials, audiovisual materials and materials accessible to the disabled; having at least 50 titles of newspapers, magazines, including electronic newspapers that are processed according to the rules of operation of libraries.

3. Having library facilities and amenities conforming to the following requirements:

- They are located independently at the centers of residential communities or at the places where traffic activities are facilitated;

- Each library must be spacious enough to meet the dimensional requirements of information resource preservation activities, service areas, warehouses, multimedia reading rooms, professional and operational rooms and toilets;

- Ensuring both easy mobility and accessibility for persons with disabilities to information resources and amenities of a library;

- Saving at least 100 m2 of reading spaces for common library users; at least 50 m2 of areas intended for children and people with disabilities;

- Ensuring that information technology infrastructure, network connection equipment, security equipment, peripheral and auxiliary equipment, local area network, and wide area network can meet the professional and operational needs of librarians and serve library’s users; implementing library interconnection, providing online and related services;

- Ensuring the installation of specialized equipment and means designed for information resources preservation, security, fire safety and prevention purposes;

- Organizing the provision of mobile library services, rotating information resources to serve local people with respect to libraries located in border areas, islands, ethnic minority areas, regions faced with difficult or extremely difficult socio-economic conditions.

4. Librarians must satisfy the following requirements:

- Having professional information - library qualification according to the standards of their work positions as prescribed by law;

- Having at least 70% of librarians who have already held at least associate degrees in information - library or other majors provided that they manage to obtain certificates of completion of information – library professional training courses issued by competent authorities or organizations;

- Having the capability of applying information technology to library operations or services, carrying out the library interconnection; guiding library users how to use modern library facilities to access and exploit information.

View more details at the Decree No. 93/2020/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, effective from October 05, 2020.

Ty Na

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