Urgent demand for a leverage for publishing in the digital age
In a conversation with Lao Dong reporters, Mr. Nguyen Nguyen - Director of the Publishing, Printing and Issuing Department (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) - said that 2 important directives have been and are creating major turning points that comprehensively change the Publishing industry, which are Directive 42-CT/TW (2024) and Directive 04-CT/TW.
Accordingly, Directive 42-CT/TW in 2024 emphasizes improving the quality of publishing activities. From about 24,000 book titles, 250 million copies/year, the industry currently reaches 38,000-40,000 book titles and 550-600 million copies, raising the average level from 2.1 to 6 copies/person.
Statistics from the Publishing, Printing and Issuing Department (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism), the revenue of publishers in 2014 reached 2,038 billion VND, and by 2025 reached 4,165 billion VND (double the growth over 12 years).
Directive 42 has created a legal basis, promoted linkages, and helped the publishing industry grow strongly in both scale and quality over 20 years. However, the rapid development of science and technology poses new requirements for the industry.
According to Mr. Nguyen Nguyen, Directive 04-CT/TW - has been elevated, more detailed and specific, placed as a methodical strategy, and at the same time shows the great determination of the Party and State for the future development with the breakthrough speed of the Publishing industry.
Directive 04-CT/TW is expected to be a lever for the publishing economy. The Directive defines that publishing is not only about making books but also becoming an economic - technology industry, a center for producing digital content, knowledge data, and participating in the creative value chain. At the same time, publishing is positioned as an important part of the cultural industry, contributing to spreading values, increasing economic efficiency and improving national competitiveness.
Building the knowledge industry
According to experts, this is a shift from the thinking of managing a cultural field to the thinking of creating a knowledge industry. Director of the Publishing, Printing and Distribution Department - Mr. Nguyen Nguyen said that Directive 04-CT/TW shows a shift in the thinking of publishing development in the digital age, requiring both management and practice to fundamentally change to find specific solutions.
Representatives of the State management agency for publishing said that the concept of "the nucleus in the value-creating ecosystem" is a particularly valuable new point. This concept puts publishing in an important position, the center connecting authors, publishers, technology, data, distribution, libraries, education, media and readers.
Thai Ha Books - a business with more than 20 years of operation, benefiting from Directive 42 - expects new impetus for development. When Directive 04 was issued, Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung - Chairman of Thai Ha Books - emphasized: "This is a diamond opportunity for the publishing industry".
Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung is particularly interested in the public-private partnership model, in which the State not only manages and licenses but also orients the market, leads cooperation and creates an innovative space.
Directive No. 04 proposes models such as "public investment - private management", "private investment - public use", "public leadership - private management" showing new orientations to take advantage of resources and capabilities of both the public and private sectors.
Chairman of Thai Ha Books assessed that tax policies, support for digital transformation, and creating a level playing field between economic sectors, if implemented synchronously, will help businesses boldly invest in high-quality content, digital publishing technology, and expand to the international market.
Mr. Tran Dinh Ba - Deputy Director, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House - said that Directive 04 has many contents suitable for the reality and trends of publishing economic development, with clear incentive solutions.
According to Mr. Tran Dinh Ba, a highlight is the policy of building key publishing and media corporations - the pillars of the publishing economy, thereby elevating this field to be on par with other economic sectors. He also highly appreciated the orientation of multi-platform, multi-product publishing. Accordingly, books are not only physical products but also become "sources" for developing content ecosystems such as movies, animated films, digital products, toys...
The directive emphasizes the development and implementation of publishing support projects, translation projects, the program "Bringing Vietnamese books to the world", "Bringing world books to Vietnam". Mr. Ba said that this is very necessary. Currently, publishing units are often self-reliant in copyright trading, translation organization, product introduction... depending on the "health" of each unit.
The implementation of large-scale publishing and translation projects will enhance the position of Vietnamese publishing, helping Vietnamese books to be widely present in the world, creating systematic influence instead of fragmentation.
The Directive also orients the organization of the International Book Fair in Vietnam, opening up opportunities to access foreign works, promoting trade, copyright trading and promoting Vietnamese publishing internationally.
Copyright also becomes a matter of survival, as copyright will become an endless resource for the publishing industry in the digital space.
