Abstract

Recently, public libraries have been transforming their role beyond providing general information through connections with the local community, becoming social infrastructure that serves as a sustainable community infrastructure. Therefore, this study analyzed perceptions through cooperation cases between public libraries and local communities and Focus Group Interviews (FGI) with stakeholders in order to discover ways to strengthen the connection between public libraries and local communities. The analysis results suggested the following five major measures to strengthen the role of public libraries as social infrastructure: exploring collaboration with diverse stakeholders for sustainable community development; creating an inclusive environment through the application of universal design; strengthening democracy and publicness by institutionalizing the resident-participatory decision-making structure; designing multi-purpose flexible spaces satisfying local needs; and fulfilling environmental responsibilities by introducing environment-friendly design.