Gwangju Dong-gu Promotes Subscription and Lending Projects to Expand Reading Culture

Book Summary Service Available Since the 3rd
Borrow Books from Local Bookstores and Get Library Delivery

Gwangju Dong-gu Office Building Exterior

Gwangju Dong-gu (District Mayor Lim Taek) announced on the 7th that it is implementing various policies to promote a reading culture, including a "book summary service" that enables efficient reading anytime and anywhere.

Dong-gu currently operates various services such as a "subscription-based e-book service" and a "direct neighborhood bookstore loan service." The "book summary service," which began on the 3rd, provides summarized information for new releases and bestsellers?approximately 5% of the book's content (10 to 15 pages of A4 paper).

Linked to this is the "Book Lunchbox Notification Talk," a service where applicants receive book summary information for six genres?literature/education, economics/business, self-development, classic literature, humanities/social studies, and practical/cultural?every Monday via notification messages.

Currently, the Dong-gu Library website offers summaries for about 8,000 books, with new releases and popular book summaries to be added each month. In addition, the "subscription-based e-book service," implemented to strengthen residents' reading environment, allows users to freely download and read over 140,000 e-books.

The "direct neighborhood bookstore loan service" allows residents to borrow books from local bookstores if the library does not have them. The "book delivery service" enables users to receive books from their desired library if the books they want are not available at nearby libraries. This year, the service will be expanded to include private small libraries.

The "smart library" greatly improves residents' access to reading by providing unmanned book lending and return services 365 days a year. All services are available to anyone registered as a member on the Dong-gu Library website.

Lim Taek, the district mayor, said, "We hope for great interest in various policies such as the 'book summary service,' which helps citizens grasp the main contents of books in a short time," and added, "We will continue to create an environment that stimulates the reading desire of non-readers and occasional readers, taking the lead in building a reading Dong-gu."