Which Gyeonggi Province local government spends the most on book purchases?

Yongin City to Spend 2.3 Billion Won This Year to Purchase 150,000 Books
20 Public Libraries... Ranked No.1 in Book Loans for 5 Consecutive Years

'With 20 public libraries alone, Yongin City ranks first in Gyeonggi Province among 31 cities and counties in book purchase expenses and reading volume.' This is the story of Yongin City. As of the end of last year, Yongin City has 19 public libraries. The collections held by these libraries amount to 2.59 million volumes.

Yongin City is also the 'city that reads the most books' among local governments in the province. According to the public library statistics survey in Gyeonggi Province, Yongin recorded the highest number of book loans for five consecutive years as of 2022.

Number 1 in Gyeonggi Province for Book Purchase Expenses... 2.3 Billion Won Invested in Collection Purchases This Year

Yongin City plans to invest 2.3 billion KRW this year to purchase 150,000 books for 20 public libraries. The photo shows Yongin Seonong Library.
[Photo by Yongin City]

This year as well, Yongin City's record in reading is expected to continue. On the 25th, Yongin City announced plans to increase the public library collections by 150,000 volumes with a budget of 2.3 billion won this year. Yongin City's book purchase expenses are also the highest among local governments in Gyeonggi Province every year.

The city plans to use more than half of the total book purchase budget, 1.29 billion won, to buy books directly selected by citizens. Since the book purchase expenses are high and there are many books that citizens want, this creates a virtuous cycle effect where book loans also increase.

In fact, Yongin City's public libraries operate the 'Hope Book Direct Loan System.' Citizens can borrow up to two new books per month from 23 bookstores participating in the project. The 'Wish List Books' service, which reflects citizen requests by stocking requested books in the library and giving priority loan rights, allows up to five books per month.

The city also plans to activate resource sharing through interlibrary loans, allowing citizens to borrow books from nearby libraries if the desired book is not available or currently loaned out at the library they use, and to strengthen the collection of specialized books by each library.

Reflecting the demand for digital content use, the city plans to expand electronic resources such as audiobooks and e-books, and subscribe to e-books with high user demand such as new releases and bestsellers to provide a wide range of content.

20 Public Libraries Alone... Rich Infrastructure and Various Reading Campaigns

This year, Yongin City will add one more public library: Dongcheon-Pungdeokcheon Library (tentative name). The newly constructed library will be located on the border of Dongcheon-dong and Pungdeokcheon-dong in Suji-gu. It will have a total floor area of 3,780㎡ spanning from two basement floors to two above-ground floors, equipped with a children's materials room, general materials room, digital zone, and science specialization zone.

Yongin City's library infrastructure is notable compared to other cities with similar populations, which typically have 10 to 15 public libraries. With many libraries and a large budget for book purchases, interest in reading is high.

According to the 2022 public library statistics survey in Gyeonggi Province, Yongin recorded a total of 6,172,768 volumes, 36% more than the second-ranked city. In particular, Suji Library ranked first among all public libraries in the province with 890,000 volumes. Following that, Sanghyeon Library ranked 4th with 640,000 volumes, and Jukjeon Library ranked 11th with 520,000 volumes. In total, 12 Yongin City public libraries ranked within the top 50 out of 309 public libraries in the province.

Various events to promote reading culture are also cited as reasons for the top reading volume. A representative example is the 'Reading Marathon.' The Reading Marathon is a city-wide reading campaign held annually by the city to promote reading culture.

This event combines reading and marathon running, operating by converting one page of a book into 2 meters and reading the equivalent distance in books. Participants must write a book review after reading to be recognized as having completed the marathon. Participants from elementary school age and above can choose one of the following distances: walking (5 km), short course (10 km), half marathon (21.1 km), or full marathon (42.195 km). Course changes are allowed during the event period. Those who complete the marathon receive a certificate of completion and benefits such as expanded book loan limits for one year.

According to Yongin City, the number of participants in the Reading Marathon has steadily increased every year since its pilot operation in 2016. Last year, 5,564 people participated, and 1,452 completed their target distance. This year, the event runs for 10 months from February 2 to October 31.

A city official said, "We will provide high-quality public library services that citizens can feel by expanding quality collections reflecting citizens' demands and the trends of the times."

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