The experience of Korean academic librarianship

Abstract

There are numerous quantitative studies about job satisfaction, career choice, and perceptions of academic librarianship in professional Library and Information Science literature; however, not much qualitative work has been done to understand the lived experience of librarianship in any setting. A phenomenological study was conducted to understand the experiences of Korean academic librarians working in South Korea. Themes covering several aspects of academic librarianship emerged, linking career choice, LIS education and career readiness, relationships with faculty and students, and the development of professional librarianship and academic libraries in South Korea. In addition to adding personal context to quantitative studies about these issues, the phenomenological method used in this study enhances comparative librarianship literature by highlighting the universality and nuances of academic librarianship practice on a global scale.