"Taxes Flowing... 43% of Small Libraries Nationwide Operated Poorly with No Staff or Loan Records"

Assemblyman Kim Seung-su "Measures for Revitalization Must Be Prepared"

Among 6,899 small libraries, more than 43% are being poorly managed, and a significant number of libraries have no staff or no lending records.

According to an analysis of the 'Small Library Operation Evaluation Report' submitted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to Kim Seung-su, a member of the People Power Party, 2,996 out of 6,899 small libraries nationwide (43.4%) received poor operation grades of D or F as of last year.

Looking at the proportion of poorly managed libraries by metropolitan city and province, the rates were ▲Gyeongbuk 60.4% (177 libraries) ▲Gwangju 55.7% (193 libraries) ▲Chungnam 55% (214 libraries) ▲Busan 53.5% (230 libraries) ▲Daejeon 52.8% (129 libraries) ▲Ulsan 49% (92 libraries) ▲Chungbuk 48.8% (127 libraries) ▲Seoul 47.7% (450 libraries) ▲Incheon 47% (141 libraries).

Additionally, the number of small libraries nationwide with zero lending records as of last year reached 1,430 (20.7%), an increase of 104 compared to 2021.

The number of small libraries without staff increased by 304 to 2,620, those without book replenishment increased by 201 to 1,003, and those without book purchase budgets increased by 209 to 1,833.

Representative Kim said, "As the number of small libraries increases, so does the number of poorly managed ones," adding, "The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and related organizations such as the National Library of Korea must actively take measures to support and revitalize neglected small libraries."

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