• Journal of Korean Library and Information Science Society
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.233-265
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• 2018

The aim of this study was to assess the social impact of the cultural programs of the children's libraries in Korea and further present the libraries'social value. To this end, we have conducted a survey on 511 elementary school students to assess the social impact of the children libraries'cultural programs. As a consequence, we have ascertained the children's expressiveness / creativity within their personal realms, self-esteem, pleasure / joy / happiness as well as their attitude towards cultural arts and changes in the cultural and artistic experiences further to growth in friendship as a matter of social interaction, generation and strengthening of local communities, sense of affiliation with local community / identify, and local community participation, among the manifestations of the social impact concerned. Based on this, children's libraries can be regarded as an important social capital of the community in the following aspects. Children's libraries enhance the quality of life and children's interaction skills. It also make them feel attached to the local community. Children's libraries maintain local communities, contribute to the creation and strengthening of local communities, and encourage participation in local activities.

• Journal of the Korean BIBLIA Society for library and Information Science
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.97-120
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• 2023

This study determined the communicative characteristics of public libraries through locality, communality, interactivity, and organism and sought to measure the validity of their components to define the role of libraries based on the analysis. According to the analysis results, there are four communicative characteristics of public libraries: locality, communality, interactivity, and organism. This study defined the role of public libraries according to communicative characteristics. First, libraries should encourage the formation of a healthy society by providing a space for diverse community activities, contributing to the building and strengthening of their local communities, and offering the necessary information to do so. Second, libraries should contribute to the formation of local cultural communities and strengthen interpersonal relations among community members to reinforce a sense of community, while also supporting the heightening of social adaptability to foster a sense of belonging and community activity participation among members. Third, libraries act as a space for sharing ideas between generations, provide a space to carry out leisure activities, and enable the cultural prosperity of local communities. Lastly, as a representative space of local communities, libraries raise the value of the residential environment and contribute to their communities and members.