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http://dx.doi.org/10.3743/KOSIM.2012.29.1.135

From Librarians' Perspectives on Physical Accessibility of Public Libraries  

Park, Sung-Jae (한성대학교 지식정보학부)
Publication Information
Journal of the Korean Society for information Management / v.29, no.1, 2012 , pp. 135-156 More about this Journal
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to ascertain librarian's perceptions on their users' library access and its patterns. Interviews with seven library staff reveal physical accessibility issues including spatial relationships between libraries and other facilities such as shopping malls and schools, travel distance, transportation mode, and temporal perspectives of library access. The results from the interviews corroborate the findings from secondary analysis using household travel data. However, interviewees do not have a clear picture of how much their users travel and spend to access their libraries. This is true, even though these factors are critical to analyze physical accessibility. Based on the findings, this study makes recommendations to improve the accessibility of public libraries. Suggestions include the concept of sponsorships with other facilities, the placing of material drop-boxes on the main route, and providing library programs during lunch time.
Keywords
physical accessibility; spatial relationship; transportation mode; travel distance; travel time; public library; librarian perception;
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Times Cited By KSCI : 1  (Citation Analysis)
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