• Journal of Korean Library and Information Science Society
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.399-421
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• 2003

The author explored the survival and prosperity strategies for Korean public libraries in the age of information technology. She reviewed that public libraries can perform these strategies or not. On the basis of the review, she identified 5 problems of public libraries : shortage of libraries and collections, staff inefficiency, inadequate services, inefficient design of library facilities. And then she proposed solutions to improve the present state of public libraries in Korea ; campaigning for constructing libraries, increasing the materials budget, turning nonprofessional work to professional work of staff, and constructing libraries for safety and preservation.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.11 no.10
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• pp.274-285
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• 2011

There are lot of arguments whether it is necessary to outsource public libraries in Korea. What are the impacts of outsourcing public libraries? Is it efficient and productive? How is the publicness of public libraries maintained after outsourcing? This article studies public library outsourcing in the U.S, England, Germany, and Japan, and finds implications for Korea. The results of this comparative study show that outsourcing public libraries is not common in many countries. However the number of outsourcing is slowly increasing. Public library outsourcing does not always enhance productivity and publicness. Outsourcing public libraries is only one of the various managing systems of public libraries, and each county has its own unique library management system. Korea should also develop its own outsourcing policies and strategies regarding public libraries to attain their productivity and publicness.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.177-197
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• 2010

Public libraries in Korea have increased dramatically in number through the last 45 years.However, compared to the public libraries of the United States of America, United Kingdom of Britain, and Japan, public libraries in Korea tended to have a higher rate of capita visits per a public library, so public libraries' infrastructure in Korea is very inadequate. This research analyzed cooperative network cases for public libraries of London Borough of Camden, Ootaku in Janpan, and Bucheon City in Korea to deduct a plan to broaden the service area and to make management more efficient by managing based on the single-administrative district area as a regional library system. With these results this research excogitated a cooperative network model and a plan to make the management more efficient. As a conclusion, as public libraries increase in numbers we need to examine the proper scale, and we need to construct a central-concentrated system to enhance management efficiency between a central library and branch lib aries or small libraries.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.233-251
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• 2009

Following the Industrial Revolution, the United Kingdom achieved political, economic and social development earlier than other countries. The British people, who gained free time, wanted to have library services. Thus, the central government established the Public Libraries and Museums Act in 1850, which was the first in the world. The local government began to establish public libraries using tax income and provided free library services. At present, the operation and services of British public libraries have been developed and are exemplary, compared to South Korea and other developing countries. Thus, this study examined how the central and local governments in the U.K. developed their public library operations and services, and how they operate public libraries.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.173-192
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• 2014

Cultural programs in public libraries are on the rise in Korea. In this regard, this study attempts to investigate the current situation and limitations of cultural programs in public libraries in Busan metro area. This paper also suggests future strategies in order to improve the quality of such programs and to cope with changes of user demands and future trends. Data were collected from 29 public libraries in Busan Metro area. Supplementary data were also collected through qualitative interviews and brain-storming discussions with public librarians who are in charge of cultural programs in public libraries. Cases from other countries were also analyzed in terms that they might be adopted for cultural programs in public libraries in Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.141-162
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• 2011

In Korea, public libraries lack the adequate services for the visually disabled, and therefore the visually disabled rarely use public libraries. This study aims to secure the information accessibility and usage rights for the visually disabled, and to suggest solutions in order to vitalize their use of public libraries. For this aim, the researcher investigated the reasons why the visually disabled did not use public libraries, extracted the correlations between their awareness of public library services and their actual use, and then tried to propose how to secure their right to use libraries and access to information and knowledge and improve their use of public libraries.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.265-283
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• 2012

Many local governments in Korea have competitively interested in founding and operating public libraries and carried out various projects for promoting them. Each local government, however, has focused on increasing the number of public libraries, lacking in an effort to enrich the qualitative substance. The purpose of this study is to suggest medium-term and long-term development plan for public libraries in Cheongju by considering internal and external problems of public libraries, and resent government plans for libraries. To identify this purpose, the study investigated the present founding and operating condition of public libraries in Cheongju. In the second, it suggested the medium-term and long-term strategic plans for public libraries in Cheongju using SWOT analysis. In the third, it also reviewed founding and operating changes of public libraries in Cheongju and Cheongwon which were integrated into one city. Lastly, the methods for organizing and operating public libraries in Cheongju were suggested.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.377-397
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• 2022

The number of public libraries in Korea has been increasing. However, the focus was on quantitative growth, while it did not have much interests in whether its growth trend are have deviations by region, and if that is a fact, what factors caused such a disparity. For this reason, this study analyzes spatial distribution of public libraries in Korea and its affecting factors of regional gap. As a result, public libraries are constantly distributing in the metropolitan area and the distribution of public libraries showed deviations by region. The results of analysis regarding the determinants of public libraries distribution, rate of population growth, the number of businesses and financial independence rate are found to have a positive effect but local taxes per capita are not. Especially economic power of region and financial ability of a local government are key factors of regional disparity. It shows empirically that the supply of public libraries has been determined by the convenience of suppliers.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
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• v.58 no.3
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• pp.145-168
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• 2024

This study analyzed the current status of late fee policies for overdue books in public libraries in the United States and Korea and derived measures to improve the late fee policy in public libraries in Korea. Therefore, this study analyzed the current status of late fee policies in public libraries in Seoul, Korea. The results indicated that 14.8% of public library operators and 21.6% of public libraries in Seoul had late fee policies. In the US, the American Library Association and major public libraries were found to have recently eliminated late fees. The main justification for this policy change was their recognition of late fees as a form of social inequality. In fact, this study confirmed that the elimination of late fees led to users' increased access to information. This study also found that public libraries in the US turned books not returned after a certain period into lost items and imposed fines for lost items. In conclusion, this study suggested integrating measures for late fees and lost items to manage non-returned books and clarifying the legal basis for such measures.

• Journal of Korean Library and Information Science Society
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.353-379
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• 2009

Since April last year when "the disability discrimination act" became effective in Korea, public libraries in Korea have been obligated to provide library service to the disabled. But most of public libraries in Korea do not and are not ready to service them. After finding out the characteristics of Korean disabled people and investigating current state of services for them in the public libraries of Korea by analyzing related statistics and laws, suggestions for the enhancement of public library service for disabled people in Korea were proposed.