In order for the library to fruitfully fulfill its functions as an institution that serves professionally and trustfully, it needs cultivated competent librarians with professional knowledge and skill of new technology. Such cultivation of librarians is possible only on the soil of education that is constantly changing and improving. 

The education system for librarians in Korea can be largely divided into two parts: a system producing librarians, and a system re-educating the librarians who are serving in local libraries. In the first part, education is mainly done through Colleges and Universities. The second part is operated and conducted by the National Libraries of Korea with programs for the librarians across the nation.

2. Korean Librarianship

In Korea, approximately 2,000 qualified librarians are annually produced under the Library Law from the 32 universities, 8 colleges and 3 schools which offer library and information services of one-year program for graduate students with majors other than library and information science. 

Korean librarianship is based on "The Library and Reading Promotion Law" and its ordinance. According to the law, qualified or professional librarians are classified as 1st level librarian, 2nd level librarian and assistant librarian as they meet the conditions indicated in the Law.  In order to get a job as a librarian in libraries in Korea, they need the certification. 

  3.1. History
The NLK opened the door for continuing education for librarianship in 1983. This program won the official approval of the Korean government in 1985. The NLK put the legal basis for "Training librarians and library staff" on the revised library law in the year 1987 and included in the Library and Reading promotion Law in 1997. In 1997 the birth of the special division taking charge of training librarians enabled the educational function of the Library to drastically strengthen and the Library has been designated as a special educational institute according to the law of educating government officer and has been maintained up to the present time. 

  3.2. Legal basis
The continuing education for librarians offered by the NLK has been performed under the legal basis of follows:

The Library and Reading Promotion Law (Article 16) "The National Library of Korea shall provide continuing education with librarians in libraries and village libraries." 

The law of educational training for government officers (Article 4) "The special educational institution shall be installed under the command of the relevant central administrative agency." 

The law of educational training for government officers  (Article 10) "The head of all administrative agencies shall support their staff to choose the educational institution and take its courses." 

  3.3. Subject of education
The subject of continuing education that the NLK currently offers is extended to approximately 16,000 librarians who serve in 11,515 local libraries such as public libraries, university or college libraries, school library and village libraries. 

  3.4. Invitation and Selection
The Library conducts the survey of demand by asking the participation of  all librarians in libraries across the country and then confirms the detailed curriculum reflecting the results of the survey. Through this process, the Library also reflects the results of questionnaires completed by educators and students who attended the courses and opinions of librarians who currently work in libraries. 

The librarians who want to participate in each course exceed the capacity that the Library can accommodate. The Library, therefore, assigns the number of attendants of each library in proportion to the total number of students and informs it to each library. Each library chooses its assigned staff and transfers their information to the NLK.

  3.5. Courses
The programs that the Library offers to librarian government officers are composed of librarianship centered specialized courses and divided into two large parts: a required courses aimed at establishing the morals of public servants and improving the performance of their duties under each position; and an elective program aimed at offering specific and specialized education classified by the library work fields.

In addition to the courses for traditional library works, the Library has developed the information related courses to cope with constant change of IT environment and courses classified by the subject of attendance to provide the practical help to school librarians, university librarians, and village libraries managers. 

The Library also attempts to change training methods from training of theory and lecture styles to methods that encourage participation and sharing experience by providing the chance to be able to fully take advantage of individual attendants’ knowledge and experience. 

  3.6. Evaluation
Score evaluation is performed only for students who take the required  courses and there is no score evaluation for elective course students; completing the course is enough. The score evaluation comprehensively conducted by a test evaluation based on the lectures, individual research reports, group research participation evaluation, percentage of attendance and learning attitude according to the detailed plan about student evaluation based on the score evaluation ordinance. The results of evaluation will be passed on to librarian's institution within 10 days after the end of the course, and a record will be kept in the personnel file and can be used to affect promotions. 

The evaluation of education itself is analyzed by a questionnaire from course attendants and comprehensively about accomplishments and outcome of courses, operation of program and lecturers situation, budget and facilities operation once a year. 

  3.7. Lecturers
As the education offered by the NLK is focused on the education for improvement of practical work, the faculty is composed of specialist and senior librarians in library system as well as professors. 

  3.8.  Facilities
Educational facilities are separately built at the annex to the NLK main building and there are: Main Auditorium (100 seats), Small Auditorium (40 seats), Discussion Rooms (8 rooms with 12 seats), IT Training Rooms (2 rooms with 100 seats), Education Support Room and Nursing Room and all rooms are well equipped with state – of –the- art products for education. 

IT Training Room

Group Meeting at Discussion Room