TEXT_Yan Lam PHOTOS_Panda Lei
U Weng Hong hopes to arouse people’s interest in reading through themed book fairs.
The library is like an ocean that contains a lot of creatures. It has a vast reservoir of knowledge waiting for readers to discover and encounter. The Macao Public Library of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym) selects a wide range from the boundless ocean of books for themed fairs, guiding readers in their further exploration of hidden books and knowledge. U Weng Hong, who takes part in this series of fairs, said that the book fairs are like the fish fry fed by the library, which might look small at first but will grow big and beautiful in the future.
In the first half of 2021, the IC’s Macao Public Library brought along three special book fairs, namely “9+2 Cities in the Greater Bay Area - Book Fair”, “Reading Ox-themed Books in the Year of the Ox”, and “Promising Future”. The latter two are curated by U Weng Hong. “The Macao Public Library is a place where knowledge is spread, and it provides a rich source of spiritual power for the public,” said U. “As library staff, I want to use this space to bring something interesting to readers. Book fairs allow readers to choose from a range of books of different categories, with themes that link them together, be it classic literature, children’s books and picture books, popular science and biology books, life or art books, etc. We hope that readers can find their favorite books in the fairs.” U Weng Hong, who has many years of experience in curating fairs, said that he does not select books according to their classifications, but rather goes through books of different categories stored in different areas of the library by theme, and eventually selects the right exhibits. As a result, readers can find surprises in these book fairs. For example, the book fair “Reading Ox-themed Books in the Year of the Ox” included a book about Picasso, which made readers smile as they learned about the master’s relationship with oxen.
The books on display in these fairs are not available for checkout: will this make readers less interested? “The exhibited items temporarily cannot be borrowed during the exhibition period to retain the integrity and sense of unity. These fairs are just an introduction. They can arouse readers’ interest, stimulate reading choices and influence them to seek books in a certain direction, in an attempt to open up and expand readers’ reading choices,” U Weng Hong explained. In addition, he also revealed his hope that future book fairs with different themes would be held on a more regular basis in collaboration with different organizations, to demonstrate the openness of the library, and to make readers look forward to book fairs so that reading becomes fun and beautiful.
“Promising Future”, an art-themed book fair featuring comics, illustrated books, professional books, DVDs, etc., attracts readers to stop by and read.
