How Much Is Appropriate for Library Material Purchase Budget? ... National Assembly Forum Held

A National Assembly forum to examine the appropriateness of library material purchase budgets and explore ways to increase them will be held on the 17th at 2 p.m. in Seminar Room 2 of the National Assembly Members' Office Building.

Co-hosted by Hong Ik-pyo, Chairman of the National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, and the Korea Publishers Association, this forum was organized to facilitate a rational discussion on increasing material purchase budgets amid the growth of public libraries from 514 locations in 2005 to 1,208 in 2021.

The forum will discuss the results of last year's study titled "Research on the Appropriateness of Library Material Purchase Budgets and Ways to Increase Them," conducted by the Book and Society Research Institute under a commissioned research project.

The report will be presented by Baek Won-geun, director of the Book and Society Research Institute, and Pyo Soon-hee, professor at Soongui Women's College. Discussants include Professor Kim Ki-young (Yonsei University), Professor Yoon Se-min (Gyeongin Women's University), Director Oh Ji-eun (Seoul Library, Chairperson of the Public Library Council), and Lee Seung-woo, director of Gil Publishing, representing academia, libraries, and the publishing industry.

A representative from the Korea Publishers Association stated, "We hope this forum will serve as an opportunity to review whether the acquisition budgets of public libraries are appropriate and to find practical solutions to increase them, thereby contributing to the development of public libraries."

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