Shilin has always been a hotspot for writers and had a very high percentage of people with tertiary degrees. Tsao's society provided people who hadn't been able to continue their formal educations the opportunity to continue learning by organizing reading groups and inviting well-known individuals to give lectures. Tsao himself made use of his participation in the colloquia to write several published papers on folk customs.
士林自古便以文風見長，受過高等科教育的比例居高，為了讓沒機會讀書或升學的人有進修機會，協志會舉辦讀書會，邀請名人座談，曹永和也利用辦展機會寫成了多篇民俗論文，在期刊上發表。