The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has just issued a decision approving the investment policy for the project to build a Children's Library at the Ho Chi Minh City General Science Library (No. 69 Ly Tu Trong, Ben Thanh Ward) with a total investment of nearly 600 billion VND from the city budget.
The project is invested by the Ho Chi Minh City Civil and Industrial Construction Investment Project Management Board, expected to be implemented in the period of 2026 - 2028.
According to the approved decision, the Ho Chi Minh City Children's Library will be newly built on an area of over 9,300 m2 in the campus of the General Science Library.
The project includes an 8-storey main building (5 floors above ground, 3 basements), auxiliary areas, yards, trees and a synchronous technical infrastructure system.
The library will be invested in a modern and friendly way, including age-based reading areas, skill classrooms, creative experience areas, interactive technology spaces and outdoor playgrounds. The project also invests in wastewater treatment systems and modern equipment to serve children's reading - learning - playing activities.
Investing in building a Children's Library aims to encourage the development of a reading culture, creating a healthy environment for children to form the habit of reading from a young age. The library will provide a rich source of learning materials, support learning, develop skills and expand knowledge for children.
This is also a space to stimulate creative thinking through storytelling, painting, writing stories, scientific exploration or learning about new technology. At the same time, the library aims to build a learning society, contributing to shortening the gap in access to knowledge between children in different conditions.
Not only serving children, the project also aims to strengthen family and community cohesion through reading activities with parents, reading groups, cultural and educational events.
The Ho Chi Minh City General Library of Science - where the Children's Library is located - is one of the oldest cultural works in the city. The predecessor of the library was the Southern Royal Library, established in 1868 under the decree of Vice Admiral Ohier.
In 1882, the library changed its name to the Southern Government Document Library under France, considered the first public library in Vietnam.
In 1972, the project was named Saigon National Library, and since 1978, it was officially named Ho Chi Minh City General Science Library.
After nearly two centuries of formation and development, the General Science Library is not only a place to preserve a treasure trove of valuable books, newspapers and documents, but also a space to connect knowledge and inspire creativity for many generations of readers.
From blind reading rooms, children's areas, to modern electronic services, the library is increasingly opening the door to knowledge to all ages and all classes of people.
