<World class library Korea University >

 

 

Korea University is the first university in Korea to have established the RFID system throughout its

campus. The system was established in December 2014 to allow library users to check out and return

material at any time, and from anywhere on campus. They can also reserve material online and pick it up

and return it at one of the smart checkout and return machines dotted around the campus, including the

libraries. Currently, more than 70% of material is being checked out and returned in a contactless way,

using RFID devices.

“KLIB 2” is a mobile app allow library users to make a reservation for a reading room seat  Ten minutes

after they make a reservation through the app, they can be allocated a seat by confirming their

reservation using Bluetooth or at a campus kiosk.

The library is also establishing a major-specific academic research support system. The Scholarly

Information Curation Service (SICS) has been up and running since September 2015. Thanks to the

system, researchers have online access to field-specific books, scholarly papers, databases, and

research reports that help them keep up with the latest research trends, academic news, academic

conference schedules, and other major-specific academic information. Now, more than 247,000

academic resources related to 10 majors from over 7,360 sources are being updated every day. In March

2020, the library revamped its website to make it more amenable to mobile devices. In addition, it is

investing 75% of its budget in the purchase of electronic scholarly resources to improve the quality of its

online services. Currently, Korea University Library holds more than one million items of digital content (e-

journals, e-books, e-learning content, etc.), making it the private university with the largest collection of

digital resources in Korea. The COVID-19 crisis has led to a significant increase in the numbers of those

accessing electronic resources from off campus as well as in the number of e-book borrowers.

 

Korea University Library has been flexibly adjusting its service policies based on the guidelines of the

Korea University COVID-19 Prevention Committee and in light of the Korean government’s coronavirus

alert level at any given time. All reading rooms in campus libraries open on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 9

p.m., and limit seat occupancy rates to 25-50% of capacity. Reference rooms are open from 9 a.m. to

5:30 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays, and limit seat occupancy rates to 30%.

Those who are not members of Korea University are not allowed to enter any libraries on campus. Staff

members and thermal imaging cameras are being placed at the entrances of all library buildings to check

every visitor’s body temperature and to make sure that they are wearing face masks. Antimicrobial films

have been attached to the surfaces of all door handles and unmanned kiosks. All library facilities are

disinfected every Tuesday. Korea University Library strives to continuously improve its services in light of

new demands for “ontact” (face-to-face online) and “untact” (contactless offline) environments in the post

COVID-19 world. More specifically, it will increase its collection e-books and audiobooks and make

available more open access resources. The number of subjects covered by SICS will be increased from

10 to 30, and online services (online reference tool development, online book reservation service, etc.)

will be expanded. In addition, as part of KU's post COVID-19 safety measures, the library will consistently

expand contactless library services through measures such as the improved safety of reading rooms, the

expansion of convenient checkout services, and the piloting of a material delivery service for users with

disabilities.