The national sub-committee on books in Thailand's 'soft power' sector plans to suggest creating 'the Book Institute' and 'One Province, One Landmark Library' to the government.
The committee's chair, Charan Homtientong, mentioned that these organizations will be part of a bill to be proposed in April and likely approved in October.
Charan also mentioned that he will consult with publishers while drafting the bill, and noted that the budget of Bt69 million for the committee to carry out its proposal may seem small compared to other sectors under the national soft power committee, but he views it as significant because no budget has been allocated for the book issue previously.
The soft power committee, led by PM Srettha Thavisin and deputy leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra of the Pheu Thai party, has set aside Bt5.1 billion for festivals, food, and tourism.
The bill will include a campaign for establishing 'One province, one landmark library'.
According to Charan, books never die, they simply transition to E-books and other digital platforms.
