Abstract

While small libraries have steadily increased in quantity, parts of qualitative growth such as lack of manpower and poor operation have been pointed out as problems. Accordingly, with the aim of establishing a foundation for linkage and cooperation between public libraries and small libraries, the small library itinerant librarians project has been promoted since 2010, and its scale has been continuously expanding. However, the lack of manpower and poor operation still remain tasks to be solved, and the poor treatment and job environment of itinerant librarians have not improved. In this context, this study aims to examine the problems of small libraries and job problems experienced by itinerant librarians and to find ways to improve the job environment of itinerant librarians based on this. Through the analysis of previous studies, small libraries and net companies were investigated, and in-depth interviews were conducted with participants related to itinerant librarians and small libraries. Through interview data analysis, a total of 17 meaning topics were extracted, including ‘lack of work authority’, ‘lack of work manual’, ‘lack of communication, community’, ‘lack of integrated operating system’, ‘poor treatment and working environment’, ‘malicious user’, and ‘lack of belonging’. Based on this, four improvement measures were proposed, including the improvement of the job authority and standard regulations of itinerant librarians, the establishment of a community organization, job security guarantees, and job education reinforcement.