An evaluation of the library’s educational value based on the perception of public library users and librarians in Korea

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to develop an evaluation index. For this, questionnaire survey was conducted to assess the educational value of the library. This study encourages librarians and users to gain confidence in the educational benefits of the library and enables the students and general users to capture and appreciate the educational presence of the library, thereby contributing to the increase of activity in libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

To develop an evaluation index for assessing the educational value of the library, domestic and foreign papers were collectively gathered and analyzed to develop a preliminary evaluation index. Next, ten experts were selected and the three-step Delphi method was used to develop a final evaluation index. Questionnaires were developed based on the final evaluation index, and librarians and users of 100 public libraries were asked to assess educational values of their respective libraries. In Korea, there are 978 public libraries (as of 2015), and in this study, 10% of the public libraries were selected. To select the libraries, every tenth library was chosen from the data of the national library statistics system.

Findings

By presenting the educational value of the library, this study encourages libraries to improve their services and increases library usage. The educational value has been divided into five evaluation areas of literacy improvement; learning and educational support; research support and information resources provision; improvement of the quality of educational environment and education; and strengthening of competency. The strengthening of competency evaluation areas were the highest at 3.87, and those of research support and the information resources provision were the lowest at 3.63. Statistical analysis comparing responses by social status, gender, age and number of visits revealed that the majority (23 of 39) of significant differences found occurred between librarians and users.

Practical implications

The evaluation indicator developed in this research is expected to be a basic tool that can be applied to public libraries as well as other types of libraries. In addition, the evaluation indicator developed in this research can be applied to nonprofit organizations and this research is expected to have an educational impact as a study that evaluates and presents the educational values of libraries. In addition, because the research was conducted in a personal context, the questionnaire survey was administered in 100 libraries with limitations among the public libraries nationwide. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the educational value of libraries of other kinds such as university libraries, school libraries and specialized libraries, using the indicator developed in this research.

Social implications

The biggest feat the present study achieved is the development of the evaluating indicator of the educational value of libraries. As examined in previous researches, the studies on the value of libraries are partly being executed but such studies tend to be mostly ones about such an institute’s economic merits. However, a library is not evaluated only by its financial significance but by its cultural, social and educational prominence. The present research can be extremely meaningful in that within it, the authors endeavor to estimate a library’s educational value, considering the countless papers mentioning the value of similar establishments within and outside Korea, and based on such data produce an indicator to evaluate the educational value of such institutes. Also, in the present research, it is noteworthy that the developed indicator is verified while at the same time the authors apply it in real life to estimate the educational value of such a hub for books. For such an application, the authors conducted a survey on 100 Korean public libraries, amounting to 10% of all the libraries in Korea, and the research is meaningful in that it even compared and analyzed the common notions of the librarians and users. Finally, the educational value of libraries is proven through such a process. It can be seen that the users evaluate that a library contributes to the improvement of literacy on the part of the user, and by supporting studies, education, research and academic activities adds to the user’s reading ability, character and creativity. To recount the specifics, it can be seen that they think that such an establishment heightens reading ability and results, contributes to continuing education and improves emotional stability. Such a research result is seen to be of particular use for the executive team of a library while they secure the budget or plan services to better user satisfaction with the value judgment of libraries at its basis.

Originality/value

There is very little research conducted on the educational influence or value of the library, although they are referred to in part when overall value of the library is discussed. Therefore, research that focuses on the educational value of the library is needed. In this respect, this research is meaningful; the evaluation index developed in this research is a basic tool that can be applied to all public libraries as well as other types of libraries. Furthermore, the evaluation index developed in this study may also be applied to nonprofit organizations, such as libraries, and will likely have a social impact as research that evaluates and presents the educational value of the library.

Citation

Noh, Y. and Lee, S.-Y. (2020), "An evaluation of the library’s educational value based on the perception of public library users and librarians in Korea", The Electronic Library, Vol. 38 No. 4, pp. 677-694. https://doi.org/10.1108/EL-04-2019-0098