Due to his love for books, Hoang Quy Binh, a student from the Hanoi University of Technology, launched a D Free Book project, a “triple-zero” library: no fee, no deposit, no limit for lending period. After one year of operation, the project has helped many youngsters to gain access to a great source of knowledge from books at the library.

A corner at Hoang Quy Binh’s ‘triple-zero” library (Photo: D Free Book)

Over the past year, Binh had to relocate the library’s headquarters four times before settling down in a large room in lane 67, Le Thanh Nghi street, Hai Ba Trung district. Everything in the room is arranged in a minimalist style in order to create as much space for the books as possible.

“For me, a book that is kept in one place is a “dead’ book, so I want to share my books to everyone so that my books can reach the hands of many others, Binh said.

The free library has more than 500 book tiles with around 1,000 books in a wide range of categories, from economics and politics to culture, among others. The books were bought by Binh himself.

The library also houses books donated by Binh’s friends and those who heard about the project.

The library opens from 8am to 9pm every day and it welcomes 15 to 20 visitors a day. Book lovers can read books at the library or borrow them. The borrowing procedure is simple with only a mobile phone number being needed. Nothing else. No deposit. No fee. Books are given based on the trust among book lovers.

For those who don’t know which book to pick, Binh and his volunteers are willing to provide suggestions of proper publications for them.

“The library is operated in a self-awareness principle. The borrowing and managing of books at the library is run based on mutual trust and sharing,” Binh said, revealing that since it was launched, no book has been lost from the library.

The Facebook fanpage of the D Free Book now has around 7,000 followers. Since its establishment, the library has reached 500 people.

Binh’s project has inspired his friends in Hai Duong, Thai Binh and Bac Giang, who have also set up similar free book libraries in their hometowns.

The project has also received a lot of voluntary support from many youngsters, who have not only helped Binh in running the library but have also joined him in social and charity activities.

Binh said that, in the near future, the library will also host classes on foreign languages and arts for everyone and they will be for free, of course.

Vu Thanh Hoa, a student from the National University of Economics, a regular visitor of the library, said that the the free library has helped her save a lot of money from buying books.

Since she was introduced to the library, Hoa and her friends have developed a reading habit and have read different types of books.

Binh’s project has helped many people, particularly youngsters, to get access to a source of knowledge from books. Binh said he found happiness in bringing joy to the community through the pages of books.

Nhan Dan