Overseas librarians honoured for work

Two Vietnamese-American women were awarded the medal For the Cause of Culture, Sports and Tourism by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in Ha Noi on February, 15 for their contributions to the National Library and the nation’s library system.

Dr Ninh Ngoc Bao Kim, country representative of the Asia Foundation in Viet Nam and vice president of the Library Education Assistance Foundation for Viet Nam (LEAF-VN), Pham Thi Le Huong, were honoured in a ceremony on February, 15 at the National Library.

Kim was praised for her work with the Asia Foundation. The foundation has donated 120,000 books, worth US$4.5 million, to the National Library, university libraries, public provincial libraries, and research institutes nationwide since 2005.

The foundation has sponsored books, CD-ROMs, encyclopedias and dictionaries to local libraries in Da Nang, Hai Phong, Khanh Hoa and Ha Tay. Reading Day, which aims to encourage people to learn and read in English, has been organised at these libraries with the financial assistant of the foundation.

Last year, in co-ordination with the National Library and the Da Nang and HCM City libraries, the foundation hosted a writing competition entitled "Searching for a Cultural Ambassador," which drew entries from 2,000 university students nationwide. Three students, representing the north, central and southern regions, were selected to tour the US for 10 days.

Huong has translated into Vietnamese The ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science and The Concise Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, 2nd edition, two international standard works on library science which have been highly valuable to Vietnamese librarians. She also has conducted training courses on cataloging rules for librarians in Ha Noi and HCM City.

Huong is also a bridge linking the National Library with other international organisations including the Bill & Mellinda Gates Foundation and the Vietnamese Nom Preservation Foundation in the US.

Together with Kim and Huong, LEAF-VN president Huyen Ton Nu Lien Huong and Dr Ann Hodock from the Asia Foundation, were also presented medals for their contribution to the country’s library system.

LEAF-VN says its mission is to help Vietnamese people achieve excellence in education by providing assistance in development of the country’s library system and services.

Source: VNS