A national library association for Vietnam

Abstract

Vietnam has a fairly large body of dedicated library professionals working in a well structured library system. It is an anomaly that Vietnam does not have a national library association. This article advocates the creation of such a national organization for Vietnam. The first part of the article attempts to answer the question: what is a national library association for? Examples from both developed and developing countries are given to demonstrate the values of national library associations. The second part of the article is aimed at answering the second question: why do we need a national library association for Vietnam now? The author’s main arguments are the pressing needs imposed on the Vietnamese library community by the national standardization programme and the overhaul of the national library science curriculum.