The Role of Libraries and Librarians in the AI Era... National Library Committee Holds First Field Meeting

Over 120 Representatives from Public, University, School, and Special Libraries to Gather at Gyeonggi Provincial Library on the 30th
Sharing Cases of Inter-library Cooperation by Type
Regional Field Meetings to Continue in Seoul in November

A field meeting will be held to explore the roles of libraries and librarians in the rapidly changing environment brought about by the spread of artificial intelligence (AI).

Poster for the 9th National Library Committee's '2026 1st Library Field Communication Meeting,' held on the 30th at the Gyeonggi Library Gyeonggi Planet Hall in Gyeonggi Province. At this meeting, representatives from public, university, school, and special libraries will discuss library cooperation cases and the role of librarians in the AI era. Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the 9th National Library Committee will hold the "2026 1st Library Field Communication Meeting" at 2 p.m. on the 30th at the Gyeonggi Planet Hall of the Gyeonggi Provincial Library in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.

This is the first onsite meeting since the launch of the 9th National Library Committee in July. The meeting aims to directly hear the perspectives of those working in library policy and to discuss ways for different types of libraries—public, university, school, and special libraries—to cooperate with each other. The evolving roles of libraries and librarians, particularly in the context of social and environmental changes such as AI, will also be a key topic of discussion.

The meeting will be attended by about 120 library representatives from Gyeonggi Province, as well as officials from the Korean Library Association, Public Library Council, Korean Association of University Libraries, Korean Specialized Library Council, and Korean School Library Council.

In the public library session, Myunghee Yoon, Director of the Gyeonggi Provincial Library, will give a presentation titled "Beyond Boundaries, the Power of Connection: Building a Metropolitan Library Cooperation Ecosystem." This will introduce the role of metropolitan libraries in connecting individual libraries within a region and present strategies for cooperation.

In the university library session, Shinae Lim, Director of the Arts Information Center at Seoul Institute of the Arts, will present cases of collaboration between local governments, institutions, and libraries.

In the school library session, Eunju Lee, a teacher-librarian at Bopyeong High School, will introduce a case of a collaborative library class conducted by both the teacher-librarian and subject teachers. For special libraries, Eunkyung Nam, principal researcher at the Korea Railroad Research Institute, will share cases of operating a specialized library through internal communication within research institutions and cooperation with external organizations.

After the case studies, there will be a discussion and exchange of views among library professionals. The participants will share their operational experiences by library type and discuss ways to expand collaboration and alliances among libraries.

As of the end of last year, Gyeonggi Province was home to 328 out of 1,328 public libraries nationwide, accounting for about 25% of the total. Opened in October last year, the Gyeonggi Provincial Library serves as a metropolitan representative library addressing future topics such as AI and environmental issues.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the National Library Committee plan to continue with onsite regional communication starting with this meeting in Gyeonggi Province. The second meeting is scheduled to be held in Seoul on November 18.

A ministry official stated, "Active participation from the field is necessary in order to define the roles of libraries and librarians that society needs in this era of great transformation," adding, "We will support the library community’s collaboration so that they can shape the libraries of the future together."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.