Library, Bookstore, Site Visits & Observations

초시 ~ Sokcho City Bookstore & Library Site Visit

| January 10 - 11, 2018

1. 완벽한 날들 Perfect Days Independent Bookstore

An overnight field-trip to Sokcho City to visit an independent bookstore called 완벽한 날들 (Perfect Days) commenced on a Sunday. We took a bus, similar to Greyhound Bus line in the States to Sokcho City which is about 2 hours northeast of Seoul, about 30 minutes to the North Korean border. Sokcho City population has less than 100,000 but brings an abundance of tourists year-round. It is most famous for its fish markets and closeness to the Demilitarized Zone. The bookstore has a cafe and guest house where two other book lovers and I stayed. The two lovely ladies pictured below invited the bookstore owner to join Neutinamu as a panelist in a future library forum. I also made observations of the bookstore atmosphere during the day and explored the city at night.

OBSERVATIONS:

There are two double sided low shelves with a lot of depth. On top of the low shelves. A view of the hustle and bustle of outside of Perfect Days is a busy bus terminal with many people coming and going. to the left of the Perfect Days literally a few inches in distance, another building is being renovated. The several story building is covered in construction workers, construction materials, debris, and filled with the sound of machinery. To the right of Perfect Days are other cafes and restaurants to attract the travelers arriving at Sokcho Bus Terminal. But inside Perfect Days, there is quit a different atmosphere. Sitting in the center along the wall of the bookstore, I have a surround sound of ambiance. Behind me several women have gathered at a large table. As center pieces, a platter of fresh and delicious looking strawberries are vibrant. In front of each of them are similar copies of a book. It must be a book club discussion group? They are a lively bunch! A mix of seriousness, laughter, and from what I can gather by their tone is understanding of differing opinion. My back is facing them but I can hear pages turning among them. It also appears that one of the participants in the book club is an employee of the bookstore. As a customer comes into the store, she gets up and goes behind the counter to barista them a cup of joe. Off in the distance, I can also hear soft acoustic music playing over the speakers above. Enough to but you in a mood but not overwhelming to distract you from reading, studying, enjoying a cup of coffee or tea, or talking with a friend.

The table to which I am observing and writing my notes upon is a metal 90 degree angled sheet that is nailed to the wall and the other part is supporting the weight of my laptop, a cup of tea, a 0.5L water bottle and my cell phone. A lamp fixture is nailed above my area and in front of me are rubber plant pots as well as Boston ferns and other indoor plants that are recommended to work well to increase oxygen circulation and remove toxic sediments in the air.

The layout of the bookstore has the books and bookshelves closest to the entrance and top to bottom windows. Reflecting the rays of the days sunlight, a customer can browse the stacks by the natural light. Some of the books that are not wrapped in publisher wrapping, the front few pages look a little worn. It is my assumption that these items are meant to be read by visitors while they stay in the cafe and placed back on the shelf for others to discover. There are a few books on display holders highlighting a title placed throughout the shelves. The shelves along the wall up to the high ceiling; perhaps, 12 or 15 feet in height. There are two stepping stools on the floor that may not be tall enough to reach the higher shelves but perhaps the bookstore employee can assist with reaching the high shelves. The shelves are nice and sturdy! Made out of wood but constructed to hold 145 lbs. They are not on wheels but are light enough to pick up and move around.

As more people enter the bookstore, it looks as though their intentions are relevant to coming here. They order coffee or tea, browse the stacks, and purchase books. Some of the items in the bookstore appear to be items for people to try out. For example, there are notebooks, sticky notes, calendars, and other stationery items with labels on them stating something like “please be careful, these items are for everybody” which I am assuming meaning that these particulars items are samples for people to look through.

The first part of the stacks nearest the left side of the bookstore appear to be children’s books, some of them are award winning (Kate something awards). There is also a clingy rack at the front of the entrance that have hanging bags that appear to be mystery bags??? Threemile Chernobyl Fukushima? Perhaps there are books in these bags that are recommended by the bookstore owner? It is hard to tell.

2. 속초 동아서점 Donga Bookstore

Visiting another independent bookstore was also on the Sokcho City trip agenda, after exploring the seaside lighthouse and fish markets, I met up with the other two travels and had a look around the bookstore. The bookstore has been in business since 1956 and holds lot of history in the bookstore industry of what some may say is a dying business. However, a lot going on inside that building such as building structure personality, creativity of book selection, and book displays that keep it alive. Yesol and I introduced ourselves to Kim Young-geon, manager and son of bookstore founder, and invited him to participate as a panelist for future library events at Neutinamu.

Newspaper article review:

"Donga Bookstore has plenty of books, and personality"

(from left to right: Yesol, Kim Young-geon and I)

3. 속초 교육도관 Sokcho Education Library

A recommended visit by my supervisor landed me to the Sokcho Education Library, a 20-minute walk from the Perfect Days guest house. A much different experience in this library than Perfect Days, Dongha, and Neutinamu. While I couldn't take photos of much from the inside, it was apparent that the atmosphere was very serious and academic, especially in the children's area where it was surprisingly too quiet. None the less, it was a beautiful space with lots of resources.

구선동 도서관마을 Gusan-dong Public Library Village

| January 28, 2018

On this day, Mr. Cho and I visited the Gusan-dong Public Library Village. The trip was inspired by a recommendation by Ms. Song, a member of the Reading and Sewing Club and Neutinamu. When given a brief synopsis about the history and development of the library, I was most intrigued to visit. I met the library director and asked her a few questions about the library and was given a tour!

(Many thanks to Soy, my supervisor for making that happen!)

The library village has such a bittersweet story of community social unrest and paramount efforts to preserve the neighborhood by building a library.

The building structure comprises of the original structure of three buildings (the homes to many residences in Gusan) as well as new areas molded together. In the picture above, one can see the outside structure of one of the buildings from inside the library. The efforts of residents, the library was built with much of their participation to preserve the local history of Gusan.

The library is also known for having the largest archival collection called the 마을 료실 (Village Archive) that preserves the history of Gusan. It is managed by an archivist who has lived all its life in Gusan. The building structure has also won several architectural awards.

2018 Service Based 4th Industrial Forum

| February 21, 2018

After attending a community meeting at Neutinamu, I was introduced to several librarians and university faculty of Library and Information Science in Korea.

I was informed that one of the members, Kim, Giyeong Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Library and Information Science College of Liberal Arts at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea will be presenting at the 2018 Service Based 4th Industrial Forum held at the National Library of Korea. With much interest in becoming aware of hot topics involving the advancement in technology and its implications in our daily lives and in libraries, I was eager to attend. Assistant Professor Kim presented on the topic of the possible roles of public libraries in the 4th Industrial Revolution.

There were many speakers at the forum to spoke about the following topics:

• Big Data

• Web 3.0-4.0

• A.I.

• IoT

• Cloud Computing

• Virtual Reality

• Wearable Devices

• 3D Printers

• Smart Cars

• Drone Technology

• Larchivism

• Self-checkout

• Linked Data

• Data Literacy