Abstract

The purpose of this study is to discuss ways to revitalize reading culture programs in public libraries for children with hearing impairments. To this end, the study analyzed the characteristics of deaf children and the types of reading culture programs in public libraries for deaf children, and derived problems in the program operation and demands for improvement through in-depth interviews with 10 field experts. Through this, it confirmed that ‘communication and accessibility’, ‘lack of professional manpower and budget’, and ‘lack of awareness and understanding of program participants’ are major problem factors in the operation of reading culture programs for children with hearing impairments. As an institutional improvement measure, it insisted on ‘preparing budget standards for services for the disabled in public libraries’, ‘institutionalizing the placement of sign language interpreters and deaf professionals’, and ‘regularizing education for improving awareness of hearing impairments’, and proposed ‘designing customized programs’, ‘developing sign language-based audiovisual training aids’, ‘expanding access to sign language video books’, ‘building trust in guardians’, and ‘establishing a cooperative system among participants’ as measures to improve the service aspect.