The Magic of Physical Books: An Interview with 1000 Libraries Founder Vincent Phan

“In this age of digital technology and AI… bookstores and libraries offer something that is completely tangible, something that has a certain magic,” says Vincent Phan, founder of 1000 Libraries, a global platform that celebrates places around the world dedicated to reading.

What began as a personal Instagram account sharing photographs of libraries and bookstores has grown into an influential online magazine, a publishing house, a letter-subscription service, and a social-impact foundation.

1000 Libraries is a mindful rebellion against screen-dominated life. Phan insists that physical book places still matter because they invite presence, conversation, and a love for stories that no algorithm can replicate.

“I’ve always been in love with these places,” Phan says. “One of my favourite things to do is just go to a bookstore, not even thinking about buying anything, but going there to browse, to talk with the booksellers. It’s something we can’t really replicate anywhere else. Booksellers, just like teachers, aren’t paid a lot of money, but they choose this work because they love books. They love recommending books. They love being in places like this. And that’s something I felt needed to be celebrated.”

A grandfather’s love

Phan’s own story starts in 1970s Paris, when his parents arrived as political refugees from Southeast Asia. As new immigrants, they worked relentlessly to provide for their family, so when Vincent and his sister were born, childcare largely fell to his grandfather, a passionate reader of French literature.

Every day after school, his grandfather took the children to the local library. There, surrounded by shelves and kind librarians, Phan fell in love with books. His grandfather read him The Little Prince, which Phan says he still turns to today when he wants to recapture that sense of boyish wonder.

Beyond their neighbourhood library, Phan’s grandfather also introduced him to the immaculate Bibliothèque Sainte-Genevieve, a library on the campus of Sorbonne-Nouvelle University. “Every time I go back to Paris, I go there at least once,” Phan says. “I just get this wonderful sense of calm and admiration. I get that from many beautiful libraries, but that particular one really sticks with me because my grandfather took me there. It’s got that emotional connection.”

Sadly, Phan’s grandfather passed away when he was only seven years old, but his love of books and libraries lives on through 1000 Libraries, which celebrates not only the grand archway of Sainte-Genevieve but also humble booksellers all around the world.

So, what is Phan’s favourite book place? “All book places are equally beautiful,” he says, though he admits a soft spot for a small secondhand shop in the medina of Rabat, Morocco. “It’s just a five-by-five stall. He displays the books outside and just sits there reading all day, waiting for customers.”

“It’s not the most architecturally beautiful place at all,” he adds, “but it’s about the human side of things… the story behind the bookseller.” That tiny stall embodies everything Phan cherishes: a life chosen for love rather than profit, and a space where conversation flows as freely as the pages of a book you just can’t put down.

Following passion wherever it may lead

As a young adult, Phan followed the practical path expected of him. He studied economics, joined a big firm, and later moved to a major bank. The work paid well but felt hollow. “The workplace is a very political place,” he recalls. “Your career isn’t based purely on performance… it’s based on who you know, and luck.”

Observing his bosses, he began to worry that if he stayed, he would become someone like them, someone who no longer had a sense of wonder or the ability to appreciate small, overlooked moments of beauty. One day, he decided to change course. He submitted his resignation with no plan, no safety net, and no regrets.

He supported himself as an independent bookseller at markets, and he attempted (mostly without success) to launch several social-impact startups. At thirty, he returned to university, not to advance his career but to study philosophy. Sitting alongside eighteen-year-olds in introductory classes may have looked like a step backwards to his hardworking parents, but Phan knew he was on the right path.

“I loved it. I loved debating with them,” he grins. “I was juggling a lot at the time, trying to find myself. Around then, I also had a small Instagram blog called 1000 Libraries.”

The pandemic and lockdowns of 2020 turned the side project into a global phenomenon. People confined at home craved beauty and calm; the account grew from a single follower (his mother) to half a million in just a few months. 

A major breakthrough came when Phan decided to turn his images into a coffee-table book. Traditional publishers offered modest advances and unfavourable terms, so he launched a Kickstarter campaign instead. His goal was $50,000, which he hit in three days and ultimately raised $250,000. That success proved there was both a market and a community hungry for the very thing he wanted to protect: the tangible culture of books.

An eclectic journey

At home, Phan’s personal library reflects his life journey: thousands of books on philosophy and astrophysics sit alongside Ocean Vuong’s poetry, Terry Pratchett’s satirical Discworld novels, and romance titles that mirror his newly married happiness. 

He still responds to many direct messages personally and declines brand deals that might dilute the platform’s editorial voice. “I genuinely care,” he says. “All revenue is reinvested straight away into creating more content and bringing positivity into people’s lives.”

That success also supports something deeper. 1000 Libraries operates as a social enterprise: fifty percent of publishing profits go to the 1000 Libraries Foundation. The publishing arm produces not only his coffee-table books but also colouring books and a monthly letter subscription designed to revive the simple joy of receiving something tangible in the mail.

Last year the foundation’s team traveled to a remote district in Vientiane, Laos—where Phan’s parents originally came from—and built a school library in partnership with KPMG and the French government. Its mission is simple: extend the advantages of books and libraries to children who lack access. “We’re trying to give them opportunities they might not otherwise have,” Phan explains, “and show them that book lovers around the world care.”

In an era when digital tools can make physical books seem obsolete, Vincent Phan has proven the opposite. 1000 Libraries thrives because it reminds us that some experiences, such as turning a page, inhaling the scent of old paper, chatting with a bookseller in a tiny shop, simply cannot be streamed. They must be lived. And in living them, we rediscover something essential: the unassuming, stubborn, beautiful persistence of human curiosity.