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Bibliotactics

Libraries and the Colonial Public in Vietnam
Brief Description
A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, the University of California Press's Open Access publishing programme. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more. Libraries in French colonial Vietnam functioned as symbols of Western modernity and infrastructures of colonial knowledge. Yet Vietnamese readers pursued alternative... Read More
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A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, the University of California Press's Open Access publishing programme. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more.

Libraries in French colonial Vietnam functioned as symbols of Western modernity and infrastructures of colonial knowledge. Yet Vietnamese readers pursued alternative uses of the library that exceeded imperial intentions.

Bibliotactics examines the Hanoi and Saigon state libraries from colonial to postcolonial Vietnam, uncovering the emergence of a colonial public who reimagined the political meaning and social space of the library through public critique and day-to-day practice. Comprising government bureaucrats, library personnel, journalists, and everyday library readers, this colonial public debated the role of libraries as educational resource, civilizing instrument, and literary heritage.

Moving beyond procolonial or anticolonial nationalism framings, Bibliotactics advances a relational theory of power that centres public reading culture contextualised within the library infrastructure of the colonial information order. As the first comprehensive history of the colonial and national library in Asia, this book contributes new insights into publicity, colonial and postcolonial studies, and the histories of Vietnam, libraries, and information.

Series: Asia Pacific Modern

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    A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, the University of California Press's Open Access publishing programme. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more. Libraries in French colonial Vietnam functioned as symbols of Western modernity and infrastructures of colonial knowledge. Yet Vietnamese readers pursued alternative uses of the library that exceeded imperial intentions. Bibliotactics examines the Hanoi and Saigon...
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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780520416222

Publisher: University of California Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 13 January 2026

Country: United States

Imprint: University of California Press

Illustration: 40 b-w illustrations, 1 table

Audience: Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 229.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 312

About the Author

Cindy Anh NguyenΒ is Assistant Professor in the Department of Information Studies and the Digital Humanities program at the University of California, Los Angeles.

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