Sokcho City Library Marks 10th Anniversary
Embarking on a "New Leap" Toward the Next 100 Years
A Pivotal Role in Enhancing Reading Culture and Lifelong Learning
Average Annual Visitors Reach 130,000... 249% Increase Over 10 Years
Sokcho City Library is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
Since opening its doors on September 22, 2015, the library has played a pivotal role in enhancing the reading culture and lifelong learning of local citizens. Now established as a knowledge and cultural hub visited by an average of 130,000 people annually, the library has achieved a remarkable 249% increase in visitors compared to its opening year.
According to Sokcho City on September 21, Sokcho City Library, located in Joyang-dong, Sokcho, consists of one basement level and three above-ground floors, offering spaces for children, teenagers, and adults. The library features a children's reading room, a general collection room, a local history archive, a multimedia room, and an audiovisual room. It currently holds 70,637 books, 4,452 e-books, 706 DVDs, and a variety of other materials. Non-book materials amount to 5,337 items.
Additionally, the Toy Library on the first floor houses 689 toys.
The Dementia Leading Library provides information and education related to dementia in collaboration with the National Dementia Center.
In 2017, the library signed a digital resources usage agreement with the National Library of Korea, and in 2018, it opened the local history archive.
Notably, last year, the library underwent extensive remodeling to significantly improve its facilities.
The traditional partitioned reading rooms were transformed into open-concept book cafes. The multimedia room now features eight PCs and two shared office spaces, while the 54-seat audiovisual room and the 24-seat cultural lecture room can host lectures and film screenings. There is also a 20-seat reading room for accessing both library and personal materials.
Additional amenities include an unmanned reservation and return kiosk for picking up reserved books or returning borrowed ones, a self-service multifunction printer for printing and copying various materials, a nursing room, and lockers for the convenience of library members.
The former partitioned reading rooms have been replaced by open book cafes, and the electronic resources room has been transformed into a multimedia space equipped with shared offices and a PC corner. Furthermore, the library has introduced the "Chaeknarae Service" and reading assistive devices for people with disabilities, enhancing information accessibility. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the library implemented the "Book-Through Reservation and Loan Service" and the "Immediate Loan Service for Requested Books" to minimize disruptions in citizens' reading activities.
Sokcho City Library is preparing for the next 100 years and is poised for a new leap forward.
With the goal of opening in March 2026, the city is building the first public English library in Gangwon Province. The English library will have a total area of 658.26 square meters. The first floor will include a room for infants and children, a general reading room, a story zone, and offices. The second floor will feature a magazine zone, a multimedia zone, a lounge for pregnant women, and a terrace.
The Sokcho English Library is a key pledge of the eighth popularly elected administration, aiming to create a learning and play space where the region's future generation can nurture their dreams in a better environment in this global era.
Sokcho City plans to establish the English library as an eco-friendly, open cultural space accessible to everyone, serving as a cultural haven for citizens.
Sokcho City Library has devoted as much effort to expanding its software-such as programs and services-as it has to upgrading its physical infrastructure.
The various cultural programs offered by the library are particularly noteworthy. The reading culture programs, held in both the first and second halves of each year, have gained great popularity among citizens.
The reading culture programs, designed for all age groups from infants and children to adults, offer seven to eight specialized courses tailored to each age group, with each course running eight times per half-year.
In addition, the library offers a year-round humanities program for adults five times annually, as well as special exhibitions and performances, and operates ICT-based resources tailored to the digital era. Through these efforts, the library has developed into an open space where all generations can come together.
Thanks to these achievements, the cumulative number of visitors since opening reached 1,433,727 as of the end of August. The annual average number of visitors is 130,330, representing a 249% increase from the 37,300 visitors at the time of opening. As of the end of August, the number of registered members stands at 21,855.
In a survey conducted in early November last year among library users, 71% of respondents expressed satisfaction with the overall services provided by the city library.
A total of 389 people participated in the survey.
Lee Byungseon, Mayor of Sokcho, stated, "I deeply thank all the citizens who have grown together with Sokcho City Library over the past 10 years and have been steadfast partners in the cultural and educational development of Sokcho. Moving forward, we will do our utmost to establish the library as a hub for global competency, knowledge, and cultural exchange for future generations."
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