The Namyangju City Pyeongnae Library opened on April 16th. Featuring books and media materials from the cultures of 10 countries, the library employs married female immigrants and offers story–telling services in foreign languages.

Gyeonggi Governor Kim Moon-Soo asserted that “[the] library and Gyeonggi Province will embrace people of diverse cultures.”

UNESCO and the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) declared in the Public Library Manifesto of 1994 that “[the] services of the public library are provided on the basis of equality of access for all, regardless of age, race, sex, religion, nationality, language or social status.” Gyeonggi Province is faithfully fulfilling the spirit of this declaration.

Approximately 500 people including Gyeonggi Governor Kim Moon-Soo, Namyangju City Mayor Lee Seok Woo, the city council chair and councilors, organization representatives and group leaders participated in the opening ceremony for the multi-cultural library, which took place at the Pyeongnae Library of Namyangju City on April 16th.

The Pyeongnae Library features book collections in a total 10 languages including domestic works (30,414 volumes) and multi-cultural works (4,322 volumes). Additionally, visitors can make use of Chinese, Taiwanese, Philippine, Vietnamese and Mongolian channels in the multi-culture media room.

¡°The Pyeongnae Library will fulfill its social responsibilities to the utmost not only by offering services to the growing number of marriage immigrants and immigrant laborers, but also by serving as a place for unity with Koreans and as an educational space,” said Hwang Gyeong Soo, Pyeongnae Library Chief Librarian

According to the most recent Gyeonggi Province census, 267,544 out of the 868,829 foreigners registered in Korea, or 30.8%, reside in Gyeonggi Province.

The province opened the Ansan Multi-cultural Library, the first of its kind in the country, in 2008 in order to help people of different cultures adapt to life in Gyeonggi Province. Diverse multi-cultural programs, such as the Gunpo Central Library¡¯s ‘Korean Culture in Tales’ and the Gwangju City Library¡¯s ‘Library Programs for Multi-cultural Communities’ are pursued at the library.

Library usage guidelines are supported in 10 languages through the cyber multi-cultural library of Gyeonggi Province, and 2 educational animations on library usage for immigrant children were produced in 10 languages and distributed to libraries and elementary schools throughout the province.

¡°Gyeonggi Province operates 151 of the largest libraries in the country. The fact that we have established libraries such as the Pyeongnae Library for people of different cultures reflects Gyeonggi’s willingness to embrace multi-cultural people,¡± commented Governor Kim.

For more information, please contact the library policy manager of Gyeonggi¡¯s Educational Policy Division at 031-850-2631.