'2022 Youth Book Year' 4th Forum Held... 'Youth, Going to the Library'

[Asia Economy Reporter Seomideum] The 4th forum event of the ‘2022 Year of Youth Books Promotion Team’ and the Korean Library Association’s ‘2022 Year of Youth Books’ was held on the 13th at Changwon Convention Center, 3rd floor, Convention Hall Room 2, Changwon-si, Gyeongnam. The event was sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Publication Industry Promotion Agency.

Five experts participated as keynote speakers. First, Professor Jeong Yeon-gyeong of Ewha Womans University’s Department of Library and Information Science explored analysis and improvement measures under the theme ‘Improvement Directions for Public Library Services for Youth Users.’ Professor Jeong explained, “59% of people in their 20s and 78% of people in their 30s did not use the library even once a month,” adding, “Youth should have the right to freely access libraries and select materials, and be able to utilize library resources and information suitable to their needs.”

Lee Jae-hee, director of Bucheon Byeolbitmaru Library, gave a presentation titled ‘Cases of Youth Space Operation in Public Libraries.’ Director Lee introduced exemplary operations of public libraries through the Bucheon City Library’s youth space, which is organized into ▲activity support ▲community ▲open learning ▲easy space. He emphasized the changing role and importance of libraries by highlighting youth employment support and mentoring, creator capacity building, youth activity space support, and youth community activation.

Jo Geum-ju, director of Banpo Library in Seocho-gu, Seoul, shared insights under the theme ‘Youth Service Cases of Overseas Public Libraries.’ Director Jo introduced the high library usage rate of the millennial generation in the United States, emphasizing libraries as spaces for ▲undisturbed quiet study, socializing, and rest ▲utilization of advanced technology ▲acquisition of life-oriented information ▲provision of diverse materials.

Choi Il-woo, manager of Dongguk University Central Library, introduced ‘Cases of Reading Promotion Activities in University Libraries.’ Manager Choi presented reading promotion activities such as ▲life-cycle roadmaps ▲reading mileage ▲book writing projects ▲reading certification systems, reflecting on the role universities play in reading activities.

The final session was conducted by Nam Ki-woong, head of Public Relations and Exchange Team at the Youth Foundation, under the theme ‘The Role of Libraries Desired by Youth.’ Based on an online survey conducted from August 31 to September 3 with 6,291 respondents, Nam presented the status and perception of library use. 38.4% of respondents answered that libraries are places to obtain various books and information, and 42.5% said they would use libraries if they were closer to home.

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