Abstract

"Jonkyongkak" which King, Sungjong of Yi dynasty established within Sungkyunkwan in 1475 is regarded as the first university library in Korea. On the basis of modern librarianship, however, it is desirable to recognize the fact that Keijo Imperial University Library is really the first university library in Korea. In this thesis, an attempt to study the Korean university libraries under the period of Japanese control is provided. Keijo Imperial University Library is the key institution in this study. This study will focus to review the following facts: 1) the historical background of Keijo. Imperial University Library; 2) the organization and staffing pattern, and budget of this library; 3) the acquisition policy and basic collection development plan of this library; 4) the library and other services of this library including readers services; 5) the relationship with other private college libraries; and 6) the impact of this library on the present Seoul National University Library. The followings are the outlined conclusions: 1. Japanese Government had established Keijo Imperial University Library in order to perform the colonial education policy of Korean peninsula. Furthermore, it was one of the import supporting agencies for the research activities which were necessary for Japan to govern the Southeast Asia including Korean Peninsula 2. The organization and staffing size and pattern of this library are much below to those of modern university libraries. They are somewhat below to the level which is necessary to perform the minimum basic library functions. 3. The priorities of book collection of this library are 1) humanities and social sciences especially, materials on Law are much emphasized; 2) pure sciences and 3) technologies and agriculture. Therefore, the quantity of the materials on the field of technology and agriculture is very small. 4. The acquisition policies of this library are deeply influenced by the Japanese Government's colonial policy of Korean peninsula and her aggressive policy of Chinese Continent. 5. The major contribution of this library to the present Seoul National University Library is the transfer of 550,000 volumes of books and library building, but this building is now removed according to the transfer of Seoul National University Campus. 6. The staffing pattern of this library was, however, much ahead of that times. Especially, the facts that professional librarians were eligible to be appointed as the director of this library, and they had the faculty membership including faculty rank should be highly appreciated.