Gangbuk-gu 'Book Drive-Thru' Loan Service Begins

Minimizing Citizen Inconvenience Due to Long-Term Closure of Libraries for COVID-19 Prevention... Receive Books at Gangbuk Cultural Information Library Main Entrance After Applying on Website

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gangbuk-gu (District Mayor Park Gyeom-su) is implementing a non-face-to-face reservation loan service called ‘Book Drive Thru’ at the Gangbuk Cultural Information Library.

This measure aims to alleviate residents' inconvenience due to the prolonged closure of public libraries in the district caused by the impact of COVID-19.

During the closure period, the district operated subway loans through unmanned lending machines. However, there was an issue of early reservation closures due to processing capacity limits. To address this, residents can now reserve books on the website and pick them up in front of the library’s main entrance.

Any Gangbuk-gu resident registered as a full member of the library can apply through the ‘Book Application Pre-Reservation System’ on the Gangbuk Cultural Information Library website.

The number of applicants is limited to 30 people per day on a first-come, first-served basis, and each person can borrow up to five books. The district plans to increase the number of users based on usage trends.

Books can be picked up the next day from the book storage box located in front of the library’s main entrance, with operating hours from Monday to Saturday, 2 PM to 5 PM. Both the book storage box and books undergo daily disinfection.

The loan period is three weeks. When returning books, residents can return them to any district public library or unmanned return machines at subway stations (Suyu Station, Mia Station, Miasageori Station) and light rail stations (Solsam Station, Gaori Station, 4.19 Democracy Cemetery Station) within the district.

Additionally, the district offers an e-book service. The Gangbuk Cultural Library holds a total of 8,582 titles and 26,330 volumes of e-books, which can be conveniently accessed anytime and anywhere after logging into the library website.

A district official stated, “The Drive Thru loan service is an essential service that complements the limitations of the existing subway reservation loan during these times when people are refraining from going out due to COVID-19. We hope residents can safely borrow library books, gaining warm comfort and courage through reading while practicing social distancing.”

For inquiries, please contact the Gangbuk Cultural Information Library by phone or through the Gangbuk Cultural Information Library website.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.