1. General Direction of the Collection Development Policy
1. Aim of the Collection Development Policy

National Library of Korea Collection Development Policy is intended to offer a basic framework and set an order of priority for the development, preservation and management of the collections at National Library of Korea (including at National Library for Children and Young Adults). In order to establish a solid and coherent foundation for future collection development, it delineates selection criteria for subjects, languages, and formats. Through this policy, the Library seeks to reaffirm its passion for the development, preservation and management of library collections on a national level; demonstrate its determination to manage collections systematically, with common sense, and in accordance with policy operation standards; and make available to interested parties both inside and outside the Library this codified policy document on the task of developing collections.

2. General Direction of the Collection Development Policy

It is the duty of this current generation to collect and develop from among the information resources produced and distributed in Korea the greatest possible amount of library resources worthy of registration and preservation as national information resources, in order to ensure that they may be utilized by not only this generation, but also by generations to come. As the foremost organization addressing knowledge and information, the Library must stand as an institution representing intellectual and cultural heritage by developing this knowledge and information stemming from both domestic and international sources. To facilitate the Library’s service as a center for academic research and information, the following guidelines constitute the policy’s general direction. Along with guaranteeing all due accessibility to its visitors, the Library also protects the rights of authors. To this end, it abides by copyright laws when developing resources, providing library services, and preserving and managing national collections. The seven points that set the general direction of the NLK Collection Development Policy are as follows.

  • 1Ideological Basis (as the definitive library of Korea)
  • 2Scope of Policy (in selecting resources for collection management)
  • 3Target Resources Categories (for hybrid libraries)
  • 4Collection Development Methods (traditional)
  • 5 Collection Development Levels (based on the significance as a national collection and collecting intensity)
  • 6Beneficiary (User) Groups (based on subjects pertinent to the target group)
  • 7Benchmarking (against other major national libraries)
General Direction of the NLK Collection Development Policy
  • First, the policy reflects the identity and role of the Library as national library that exemplifies every type of library in Korea, as a legal deposit library that receives all library resources published and produced in Korea, as a preservation library that gathers and protects Korea’s spiritual, intellectual, and cultural heritage, and as a pioneering digital library for the era of online and digital information.
  • Second, the scope of this policy transcends the collecting of resources to cover a wider range of collection management that includes every step of the process from selection and collection to withdrawal and discard.
  • Third, development targets based on this policy are resources for so-called ‘hybrid libraries’ that include both analog resources produced and manufactured in Korea and overseas, mainly print media, and digital content, primarily electronic resources and online information resources.
  • Fourth, resources are developed through legal deposit, purchase, donation, exchange, voluntary deposit and similar traditional collection methods, as well as through photo-printing, reproduction and migration processes utilizing digital information technology (such as digitizing, or micro-reproduction).
  • Fifth, collection development levels incorporate indicators that manifest the significance and intensity of collecting each type, medium, and subject of resources in order to elevate both awareness and effectiveness. To that end, levels of significance as a national collection and for collecting intensity are codified.
  • Sixth, while this collection development policy has been designed for the sake of all Korean citizens, target user groups are classified according to subject and format of resource: the collecting of domestic resources through legal deposit is considered collection development for all Korean citizens, but collections of categorized foreign resources and online digital collections of gray literature (such as dissertations, various research papers, sourcebooks for academic meetings and seminars, and conference resources) are developed with researchers as the target group.
  • Seventh, For the sustainable growth of the collection development policy, the evolution of the situations surrounding library resources and collection development policies in other leading countries are closely observed and reflected in NLK policy.
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