Installation of a 'Smart Library' in Yangjae Neighborhood Park, Seocho-gu

Following Yangjae, Naebang, Gubanpo Stations, and Saessak Children's Park, the 5th location... A community library near the park for elementary, middle, and high school students and visitors to comfortably borrow and read books... Unmanned 24/7 service for borrowing and returning books, with about 300 new releases and bestsellers available

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Seocho-gu has opened the Seocho Smart Library in Yangjae Neighborhood Park (located in Yangjae 2-dong) to make it more convenient and safe to use books during the COVID-19 era.

This smart library opening marks the fifth installation following those at Yangjae Station and Naebang Station in 2018, and last year at Gubanpo Station and Saessak Children's Park. In particular, the smart library at Saessak Children's Park, installed in July last year, has received great response, with nearly 2,000 residents using it by December.

The reason for installing the smart library in Yangjae Neighborhood Park is to move away from the previous method of placing them in subway stations and instead bring the library into residents' living areas, creating a non-face-to-face, community-based library where people can borrow books in the park and comfortably enjoy reading on benches.

Since Maehun Elementary School and Eonnam Middle and High Schools are located near Yangjae Neighborhood Park, students commuting to and from school will have easier access to books, and park visitors are also expected to comfortably use the smart library while walking or exercising.

The newly installed smart library houses about 300 new releases and bestsellers and operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Members of Seocho-gu public libraries or users of the ‘Seocho Library#’ or ‘Seoul Citizen Card’ apps can borrow books, and they can also borrow and return books held by other public libraries in the district.

To strengthen non-face-to-face and contactless services and to quickly process the increasing interlibrary loan services, the district has installed and operates a large-capacity Book Sorting Machine for automatic book returns. This automates the sorting of about 1,500 books returned daily to Banpo Library, providing a 24-hour fast, non-face-to-face book return service.

Kwon Mijeong, Director of the Culture and Tourism Division, said, “We hope that residents can relieve depression through reading and enjoy a safe reading culture during the COVID-19 era, and we will continue to strive to create a convenient reading environment.”

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