National Assembly Library Accelerates Efforts to Attract Gwangju Hall

From AI Libraries to Bridging the Information Gap

The movement to attract a branch of the National Assembly Library to Gwangju has begun in earnest.

The Steering Committee for Attracting the National Assembly Library Gwangju Branch held its inaugural meeting on the 5th at the Gwangju City Council, reaffirming their commitment to the attraction. Participants held placards bearing the phrase "Wishing for Attraction" to urge the establishment of the branch. Provided by the Steering Committee for Attracting the National Assembly Library Gwangju Branch

The "Committee for Attracting the National Assembly Library Gwangju Branch" announced that it held a founding meeting at the Gwangju City Council on the 5th and unveiled its activity plans. The committee is chaired by Professor Jang Woo-gwon of the Department of Library and Information Science at Chonnam National University, with around 250 Gwangju citizens participating as founding members.

This year, the committee plans to further expand public opinion by recruiting additional founding members, launching a campaign to collect 100,000 signatures, and holding academic seminars, debates, and briefing sessions.

The National Assembly Library, which opened in 1952, holds 8.5 million books and more than 420 million electronic resources. However, while there are branches or the National Library of Korea in the Seoul metropolitan area and the Yeongnam region, there are none in the Honam region, leading to significant disparities in information accessibility. The committee stated that establishing a Honam regional branch in Gwangju would help resolve information imbalances and strengthen the policy foundation of local governments.

In particular, the plan is to create a future-oriented library that incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies, making Gwangju a hub of knowledge innovation. Last year, a study commissioned by the National Assembly Library also highlighted the need for regional branches. The Gwangju branch is expected to serve as a specialized library supporting legislative activities in the Honam region.

The planned Gwangju branch will have a total floor area of 14,000 square meters and a project budget of 93.85 billion won.