• Journal of the Korean BIBLIA Society for library and Information Science
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.71-94
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• 2022

While small libraries have steadily increased in quantity, parts of qualitative growth such as lack of manpower and poor operation have been pointed out as problems. Accordingly, with the aim of establishing a foundation for linkage and cooperation between public libraries and small libraries, the small library itinerant librarians project has been promoted since 2010, and its scale has been continuously expanding. However, the lack of manpower and poor operation still remain tasks to be solved, and the poor treatment and job environment of itinerant librarians have not improved. In this context, this study aims to examine the problems of small libraries and job problems experienced by itinerant librarians and to find ways to improve the job environment of itinerant librarians based on this. Through the analysis of previous studies, small libraries and net companies were investigated, and in-depth interviews were conducted with participants related to itinerant librarians and small libraries. Through interview data analysis, a total of 17 meaning topics were extracted, including 'lack of work authority', 'lack of work manual', 'lack of communication, community', 'lack of integrated operating system', 'poor treatment and working environment', 'malicious user', and 'lack of belonging'. Based on this, four improvement measures were proposed, including the improvement of the job authority and standard regulations of itinerant librarians, the establishment of a community organization, job security guarantees, and job education reinforcement.

• Journal of the Korean BIBLIA Society for library and Information Science
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.47-77
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• 2011

Due to the growth of people's use of the Internet as well as interests in health, people's needs of health information have rapidly increased in public libraries. Nevertheless, there are few studies in Korea about users' needs for health information and services that public libraries can offer to support these user groups. In the current study, a comprehensive literature review was conducted in order to understand the role of public libraries and librarians in serving users with health information and to identify the types of consumer health information(CHI) services available to users in public libraries. As for the CHI services that public libraries can offer for users, the current study emphasizes and discusses the directions and guidelines for improving the following six approaches: 1) CHI collection and information resource building, 2) CHI reference services, 3) CHI user education and training program development, 4) CHI services for minority/disability/cultural diversity groups of users, 5) CHI outreach program development, and 6) CHI network development with medical libraries, academic libraries, hospital, and medical institutions and associations. Although most of the discussion in the current study centers on cases and services provided in the United States or other countries, findings would be used to inform the importance of CHI services in public libraries, and to design and develop CHI services in Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.143-164
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between public library use and the individual's personal value system. The personal value system was measured by Schwartz's (1992) Theory of Basic Human Values. The theory includes ten universal values, which can be categorized into four higher-order values: namely, self-transcendence vs. self-enhancement; and openness to change vs. conservation. The data were collected on the web from 1,000 Korean adults who were 18 years old or above using a quota sampling method with respect to the distributions of gender, age, and geographic locations of the general Korean adult population. The collected data were analyzed using multi-dimensional scaling method, t-tests, and multiple correlations. The results showed that the public library is more likely to be used by the individuals who value "openness to change" (representing self-direction and stimulation), and "self-enhancement"(representing achievement, power, hedonism/sensuous pleasure) than those who value "conservation" (representing safety, stability of society, conformity to rules, tradition) and "self-transcendence" (representing interest in other's well-being, and tolerance, welfare of humanity and community). The findings suggest that public library uses reflect the characteristics of major library services, such as reading and self-learning, which are very autonomous and individualistic in their nature. The findings are valuable in understanding the nature of the functions performed by the current Korean public libraries that are reflected in the personal values of Korean adult library users.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.121-142
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• 1998

Based on the comprehensive literature search and the sample library surveys, some observations are made on the impact of online information technologies for reference services. Various issues specifically with OPAC, CD-ROM, remote database access, and internet environment are overviewed as the source of and trigger for change in reference librarianship and in terms of expectations as well as difficulties. The paper then focuses on how these technologies influence on the roles of reference librarians as intermediaries in information providing, instructing, consulting, and evaluating functions. This leads to rethinking the conceptual basis of today's reference service and the competencies for reference librarians with new functions and responsibilities.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.245-266
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• 2021

In this study, in order to practice the social inclusion of libraries, the related policies currently announced in the 3rd Comprehensive Library Development Plan were examined, and the current status of tasks promoted by central administrative agencies and metropolitan and provincial libraries was examined based on these policies. As a result, first, in terms of active information welfare realization, various programs and services are being implemented to bridge the knowledge and information gap, but it seems that the scope of the target should be expanded in the future, cooperation with related organizations, and infrastructure improvement. Second, in terms of expanding the openness of the space, the expansion of the open space as an open space and the application of universal design are being performed. In the future, it seems that the scope of universal design application should be expanded in consideration of budget investment for continuous space reconstruction and diversity of users. Third, in terms of linking services across boundaries, services and programs are provided to infants and toddlers, children, women, the elderly, the underprivileged, job seekers, and multicultural families. In the future, it seems that the improvement of the service system for the expansion of inclusive services in libraries should precede, and cooperation between related ministries should be made to provide differentiated services. Finally, it is expected that future policy-making tasks for social inclusion should be considered not only for books, programs, and spaces, but also for librarians' education, establishment of cooperative networks with related organizations, and marketing for services and programs.

• Journal of the Korean Society for information Management
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• v.23 no.4 s.62
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• pp.233-256
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• 2006

To understand the use of the ebooks among undergraduate students, a questionnaire was devised and collected data from 466 respondents. The level of ebook and its service awareness appears to be low, and only about 30% of the students have used ebooks in the past. Students access ebooks primarily through the library homepage. 73% of the users read 3 ebooks and below. The subject and area of reading is fairly spread, however literary works and genre fiction were most popular And the purpose is split into academic and private reading. Most of the users lack of knowledge about additional functions. Overall satisfaction level is low. Discomfort and ebooks illiteracy constitute the major reasons of nonuse, however about 88% of the nonusers show willingness to use in the future. According to the interview, active users are familiar with the screen reading as well as perceived advantages of ebooks. Nontheless, their satisfaction level is still low. Based on the results, recommendations for creating awareness, education, production development and service evaluation are suggested to promote the ebooks use.

• Journal of Information Management
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.127-165
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• 2005

This study is focused on the quality of the Web databases which has been produced in science. For the quality evaluation of NDSL, PubMed, Scopus, and WoS, 10 evaluating criteria are developed on the basis of literature review. The evaluation results show that NDSL and PubMed are superior in the currentness and cost. Scopus and WoS are superior in the information of citing and the analysis tool. It is needed for purchasing, user training, and library service based on the above evaluation results.

• Journal of the Korean Society for information Management
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.141-174
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• 2021

In this study, by examining the actual usage data of the university library website before and after COVID-19 outbreak, the usage behavior of users was analyzed, and the data before and after the virus outbreak was compared, so that university libraries can provide more efficient information services in a pandemic situation. We would like to suggest ways to improve it. In this study, the user traffic made on the website of University C was 'using Google Analytics', from January 2018 to December 2018 before the oneself of the COVID-19 virus and from January 2020 to 2020 after the outbreak of the virus. A comparative analysis was conducted until December. Web traffic variables were analyzed by classifying them into three characteristics: 'User information', 'Path', and 'Site behavior' based on metrics such as session, user, number of pageviews, number of pages per session time, and bounce rate. To summarize the study results, first, when compared with data from January 1 to January 20 before the oneself of COVID-19, users, new visitors, and sessions all increased compared to the previous year, and the number of sessions per user, number of pageviews, and number of pages per session, which showed an upward trend before the virus outbreak in 2020, increased significantly. Second, as social distancing was upgraded to the second stage, there was also a change in the use of university library websites. In 2020 and 2018, when the number os students was the lowest, the number of page views increased by 100,000 more in 2020 compared to 2018, and the number of pages per session also recorded10.46, which was about 2 more pages compared to 2018. The bounce rate also recorded 14.38 in 2018 and 2019, but decreased by 1 percentage point to 13.05 in 2020, which led to more active use of the website at a time when social distancing was raised.

• Journal of the Korean Society for information Management
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.73-99
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to analyze the health information use experience of middle-aged people in their 40s and 50s and to observe and analyze their health information search behaviors according to health consciousness and health information orientation. This study uses Information Foraging Theory with the concept of information scents which leads users to detect and collect cues in information searching. Types and contents of information cues that middle-aged people use when searching for health information were investigated. Also, how their health consciousness and health information orientation affected using information cues were analyzed. Three methods of research were used; (1) pre-interviews, (2) search experiments, and (3) post-interviews. Thirty-two middle-aged people participated in the study. Their performance on health information searching was recorded and referred to in the post-interviews using a think-aloud protocol. Findings presented that middle-aged people's health consciousness and health information orientation affected the perception of information scents in health information search; those with high health consciousness and health information orientation consider the text made by the government office the most critical information cues. We believe findings from this study could be used for public libraries or non-profit institutions to understand middle-aged people's health information behaviors to design education programs for information retrieval considering users' health consciousness and health information orientation. Findings could also contribute to Internet portal site or health-related web site designers developing strategies for middle-aged users to access health information effectively.

• Journal of the Korean Society for information Management
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.65-83
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• 2011

In this study, Network Text Analysis was performed on 1,752 articles which had been published in recent 7 years and drew the subject concept distribution and their relations in Library and Information Science research areas. Furthermore, for analyzing more recent trends and changing aspects, this study performed secondary analysis based on 482 articles published in recent 2 years. Results show that "public library", and "academic library" concepts were most frequently studied in the field and "evaluation", "education", and "web" concepts showed the highest-degree centrality during the recent 7 years. In the result of recent two years analysis, "web", and "classification" concepts showed high frequency and "user", and "public library" showed an improvement in high degree centrality.