Abstract

This study reports on the motivational use of special libraries from a user’s perspective that investigated four motivational components: attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction (ARCS) of the library users. Even though special libraries received relatively little attention compared to public libraries, special libraries could fill the niche of public libraries for the special and specific needs of the community in the current library environments in South Korea. Qualitative data were collected through individual interviews and forty people participated in the project. The findings of this study show the four themes (ARCS) that users need motivation as a way to start using a special library, thereby staying focused and revisiting the library. It is possible that the ARCS model will contribute to the implementation, application, and practice of both special libraries and their services in the library environment. The results are expected to expand our knowledge on the motivational ARCS use of special libraries and to serve as basic data when designing motivational strategies and plans of the systems for special libraries.