Opening of Mapo Sangam Smart Library... Knock 'Knock' 24 Hours a Day

Mapo-gu (Mayor Park Gang-su) announced that the Mapo Sangam Smart Library, installed at the entrance of the Mapo Youth Culture House in Sangam-dong, officially opened on the 25th after a pilot operation from December 28 last year to January 24 this year.

The Smart Library is an unmanned automated system that allows residents to immediately borrow and return books stored within the device without visiting a library. It operates 24 hours a day in a non-face-to-face manner, receiving great response from busy modern people.

Despite its large area, Sangam-dong had relatively few library facilities, causing inconvenience for residents in using libraries. Accordingly, Mapo-gu installed an unmanned smart library at the Mapo Youth Culture House, located in the center of several apartment complexes, considering the accessibility for Sangam-dong residents.

With the installation of the Mapo Sangam Smart Library at the Mapo Youth Culture House, it is expected that not only general adults but also children and adolescents will have easy access to books, and the meeting of youth facilities and books is anticipated to greatly contribute to youth education.

Any regular member holding a Mapo-gu public library membership card can use the Mapo Sangam Smart Library 24 hours a day. Even those who are not members of the Mapo-gu public library can issue a membership card on-site non-face-to-face through the ‘Seoul Citizen Card’ app and borrow books if they are Seoul citizens.

Up to 2 books per person can be borrowed for 15 days including the day of borrowing, and extensions for 7 days are possible through the Mapo-gu public library website. However, usage is restricted if the total number of borrowed books exceeds 5 at Mapo Central Library or if the member’s status is suspended from borrowing. Books borrowed from the Mapo Sangam Smart Library must be returned only at the same device.

The Mapo Sangam Smart Library is stocked with about 510 books focusing on bestsellers and steady sellers. In the future, Mapo-gu plans to periodically replace new and popular books by analyzing usage performance.

For more details, please refer to the Mapo Central Library website or contact the Book Culture Companion Team at Mapo Central Library.

Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo-gu, said, “We installed the smart library to create a convenient reading environment and allow residents to easily enjoy culture in their daily lives, so we hope for much interest and use.” He added, “Mapo-gu will continue to do its best to ensure that not only smart libraries but also public libraries become representative social infrastructure facilities in our region.”