Abstract

This study analyzed the characteristics of the learning organization according to its characteristics, the operation method and size of each public library. In addition, the service quality of public libraries was investigated so that it was also analyzed the correlation between the characteristics of the learning organization and the quality of the service. To achieve the research objectives, 83 ibrarians and 343 users across seven public libraries in South Korea’s metropolitan areas were surveyed. The investigation covered various dimensions of learning organizations: creating continuous learning opportunities, promoting inquiry and dialogue, encouraging collaboration and team learning, creating systems to capture and share learning, empowering people toward a collective vision, connecting the organization to its environment, and providing strategic leadership for learning. Also it was investigated aspects of service quality: affect of service, information control, and library as place. As a result of the study, for the learning organization characteristics, more than 3.4 out of 5 were qualified to have foundation of learning organizations. One attempted to categorize according to its operational method and size and compare learning organization differences between public libraries, however it was not easy to see the clear differences. Therefore it was judged that there might be another unidentified factor which gives an affect on learning organization. Furthermore, it was found that there was a positive correlation between learning organization traits and service quality. This study might signify by looking into how the learning organization, which is one of the post-bureaucratic organizational traits, appears in public libraries.