Gwangju City to Establish Municipal Braille Library... Opening Scheduled for First Half of Next Year

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 11th that it will build a municipal braille library open to both visually impaired people and citizens.

To build the municipal braille library, Gwangju selected a design through an architectural design competition held in January, choosing a work based on the core concept of the "Library of Hospitality."

The "Library of Hospitality" received high marks for considering senses such as tactile, auditory, and olfactory to facilitate use by the visually impaired, and for simplifying the circulation system.

The municipal braille library will be constructed near the Gwangju City Welfare Center for the Visually Impaired, with a total project cost of 1.4 billion KRW, covering a total floor area of 420㎡ and consisting of four above-ground floors.

In particular, it will be established as a public space equipped with braille books for the visually impaired and general books for citizens, a braille reading room, braille printing room, bookbinding room, voice recording room, and a multipurpose hall for various cultural events.

Gwangju plans to complete the design from this month until August, start construction in the second half of this year, and open the library in the first half of next year.

Kim Young-geun, head of the Cultural Infrastructure Division of the city, said, "Once the braille library is built, we expect visually impaired people to be able to use book services more comfortably," and added, "We hope it will become a space where citizens can come together harmoniously."

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