E-books Can Only Be Borrowed by Seoul Residents
From now on, both South Korean citizens and foreign residents living in the country will be able to borrow books from Seoul Library.
On June 10, Seoul City announced that it would expand its book lending service, which had previously been available only to Seoul residents, to a wider audience.
As a result, any South Korean citizen or foreign resident in the country can now borrow books from Seoul Library simply by registering as an online member. Each person can borrow up to 7 books at a time, and on Wednesdays, the borrowing limit increases to 14 books.
Seoul residents and those living in other regions are classified as "regular members" and "associate members," respectively. Both groups can borrow physical books, but only regular members are eligible to borrow e-books.
The city expects that by expanding its book lending service, all citizens will be able to enjoy high-quality urban services, the culture of reading will spread beyond Seoul to other regions, and visitors to Seoul will be able to use the library and enjoy a rich cultural experience.
In addition, the convenience of using Seoul Library will be improved. The period for re-consenting to the use of personal information will be extended from the current 2 years to 4 years, and the system will be updated to allow users to change their address directly on the website. A new service will also be added to allow family members to share their borrowing lists online.
Ma Chaesook, Director of Culture at Seoul City, said, "This expansion of the nationwide book lending service will be an important turning point for Seoul Library, transforming it from the representative library of Seoul into the representative library of South Korea. We will actively work to ensure that all citizens, regardless of region, can enjoy high-quality library services and a richer daily life."
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