Analyzing the Operation of Korean School Libraries based on Staffing

Abstract

Korea has a legal mandate all schools must assign school librarians. The ‘School Library Promotion Act’ was amended to mandatorily assign one teacher librarian or librarian, or practical teacher to each school. However, the staffing rate of school librarian in Korean middle and high school libraries is only 45.6%. The workforce arrangement and Library service situation in Korea is not homogeneous. Library resources are also poor in Provincial, rural areas with a small number of children and adolescents. As for children and youth services in poor environments, it is urgent to come up with measures to expand the service without considering the cost-effectiveness. Proving the service performance of libraries, which are public goods, is inevitably slow, but it is not socially controversial that utmost efforts are needed to protect children and adolescents from the negative influence of social gaps. The manpower stipulated in the ‘School Library Promotion Act’ should be deployed as soon as possible even in relatively poor areas to bridge the educational gap between regions. I believe Every Librarian brings the Giants who enable us to see the invisible and reach the unreachable. Every Library with powerful librarian finally further strengthens the power to dream.