Vietnamese students nowadays do not think that libraries could be useful for them in learning. As for many of them, libraries are simply the places to take a nap after lunch or use Wi-Fi free of charge.
Modern libraries cannot attract students
Many universities and junior colleges say they have spent tens of billions of dong to build modern libraries. However, the libraries still cannot attract students, simply because students do not think they need to go there.
In general, students only go to libraries in December and June, when they have to prepare for semester exams. In these months, libraries get overloaded. Meanwhile, in the remaining time of year, the libraries are deserted.
The library at the Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanity was seen deserted on a mid-week day, with just several students seen reading journals. The library at the Me Tri Dormitory was also deserted, while most of the students seen at the library at that moment were not university students, but the students of the high school belonging to the university; who prepared for the university entrance exams.
Ta Quang Buu Library, under the Hanoi University of Technology has been well known among students because it is considered the biggest university library with a 10-storey building, which can serve 2000 students at the same time, and open seven days a week. However, only few students come there to seek materials for their essays or scientific research.
Dinh Thi Minh Nguyet, a first year student of the Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanity, said that “only first year and second students go to libraries regularly, while third and fourth year students do not come there unless they need documents for essays.”
Quoc Hieu, an information technology student of the Hanoi University for Natural Sciences, said “in the first two years at university, students mostly learn general subjects; therefore, they need to read more documents to get more knowledge.” Meanwhile, third year and fourth year students study specialized subjects, and they have to spend more time on practice than theory.
He also thinks that students nowadays do not need to go to libraries to seek documents, because they can easily look for what they want on Internet. Lecturers will not be able to discover that student’s essays include the paragraphs copied from somewhere else, because they have to mark nearly 100 essays at the same time.
Libraries – what for?
There are 2000 students living at the Me Tri Dormitory, but most of them would rather stay at their rooms rather than going to libraries. Pham Thi Ngan, a student, said that “she only goes to libraries when semester exams come.”
Hoang Manh Luong, a student of the University for Technology is proud of the modern library, but only goes to library when he needs “some quiet place to prepare for exams”.
Meanwhile, many students go to libraries not to study or prepare for exams, but just to take a nap after lunch. Especially, some students said “they go to libraries to use Internet free of charge, or simply because it is too hot in their rooms while they do not want to spent money for the electricity to run electric fan.”
The story that Vietnamese students do not like going to libraries could be a big surprise to foreign students, who can sit at libraries from the morning until evening. Professor Ngo Bao Chau, the Fields Medal winner, said “he spent 10 hours a day at libraries when he prepared for the doctorate.”