• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
• /
• v.56 no.4
• /
• pp.129-159
• /
• 2022

This study generated primary data for supporting the place branding as a part of the library advertising and marketing strategies to increase public library visits. The literature review enabled the use of the place branding concepts to discover the relationships among the constituent parts, factors, expected outcomes, and loyalty, then to develop the research model and the hypothesis, which were verified using the Structural Equation Model. There were 34 research hypotheses, of which 21 were adopted. The place image factors such as library reliability, library reciprocity, and library safety were found to be significant. This study derived social contribution value as new place value and place image factors as the potential brand image of public libraries. It helped select the place image factors that best fit the local library's core values (i.e., place value). This study is meaningful because it is a fundamental study to introduce place branding in public libraries as an advertising and marketing strategy. And it is expected that public libraries will grow into high-quality brands with high awareness, loyalty, and secure leadership in the local community.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
• /
• v.56 no.1
• /
• pp.321-345
• /
• 2022

Public libraries have been facing new challenges as the number of channels providing information resources has been increasing due to information and communication technology development. The perception of public libraries of the general public is that they should continue to play a substantial role in information services. However, the libraries' environments are changing, and the public's needs are diversifying, so public libraries also need to differentiate themselves from other organizations that provide similar services. This paper proposes branding as a solution to create differentiation. The study conducted a questionnaire survey with Koreans in their 20s. A series of statistical tests with the survey data showed the impact of the brand association elements on customer satisfaction and brand loyalty and identified unique factors in public libraries. For example, Brand associations such as material-based services, benefits, and attitude affected both dependent variables. On the other hand, the non-product association such as space/place images did not. Based on these findings, we provided implications for introducing branding in public libraries.