Gwangju Nam-gu Expands Directly Managed Small Library Opening Hours to Nighttime

Nam-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, has fully expanded the opening hours of all directly managed public small libraries operated by the district office to include weekday evenings and weekends.

Additionally, to promote the use of directly managed small libraries, programs for infants and adults will be offered during the day, evenings, and weekends.

According to Nam-gu on the 23rd, there are 76 small libraries operating within the district, with 18 public and 58 private small libraries.

Public small libraries are operated either directly or by consignment. The directly managed small libraries under the district office’s control include 10 locations: Nodeul Happiness, Dalmoe, Daechon-dong Ecology, Mulbit Park, Bangnim 1-dong Flower Village, Bongseon 2-dong, Wolsan 4-dong, Wolsan 5-dong, Pureungil, Hyonanum, and Pureungil Small Library.

However, Pureungil Small Library is temporarily closed due to the construction of the Pureungil Bridge and is expected to reopen around April when the construction is completed.

The reason for expanding the opening hours of all directly managed small libraries is that, in the pilot case of Bongseon 2-dong Small Library, the average number of users during nighttime hours reached 41 per day, and residents’ requests for weekday evening and weekend openings were actively reflected in library administration.

In fact, as of December 31 last year, the cumulative number of nighttime users at Bongseon 2-dong Small Library was 10,073, and the number of books borrowed or read at night averaged 75 per day.

Accordingly, Nam-gu recently completed the hiring process for temporary workers and has been opening the directly managed small libraries to residents until 9 to 10 p.m. on weekday evenings, except Wednesday nights, since the 15th, according to each library’s situation.

Also, to facilitate convenient use of directly managed small libraries on weekends, they are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Furthermore, starting in March, directly managed small libraries in the district will offer daytime, evening, and weekend programs for infants, elementary school students, and adults.

During the day, seven programs such as "Writing an Autobiography with Photos" and "Making a Nature Guidebook" will be operated, and in the evenings and weekends, four programs including "Calligraphy" and "Poetry Recitation Class" are planned.

A Nam-gu official stated, "By expanding the opening hours of directly managed small libraries, we aim to create an environment where residents can conveniently use small libraries, thereby improving the quality of life for local residents."

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