Abstract

The service strategy of the public library needs to be established based on the users who are the actual beneficiaries of the services, including the perspective of changes in the social environment. This study investigated and analyzed the users' perceptions of the library functions and services currently provided and the demand for future services, targeting public library users in the Busan area. The data were collected through a questionnaire, and the respondents were 733 public library users in Busan. The main result is that first, the role and function of the public library that Busan users consider most important was still in material collection and provision. Second, in the information service type, the demand for cultural/lifelong learning program service was the highest, and in the service program, the demand for new IT technology experience and education was the highest. Third, as a result of ISA analysis of information service type, material provision service and information literacy education service were types to be maintained, and reading related service was type to be managed intensively. Fourth, in the analysis of service demand by age, those aged 41 to 50 years old were the generation with the highest demand in all types except for the information literacy education service type, and the demand for information literacy education was the highest among the elderly generation over 61 years old. And the user group in the western part of Busan was higher than the user group in other regions in demand for almost all service types. The results of this study can be used as basic data when establishing strategies to optimize community public library services for users.