Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to find out the present status of public library management. The assumptions on which this research is based are that there are differences between th theories taught at the educational institutions for librarians and the practices actually managed at libraries, and that the differences are greater in Korea than those in the United States of America as the former has a shorter library history and is a more bureaucratic society. The data were collected were collected through the questionnaires sent to fifty-five public library managers in Taegu and Kyungpook province. Forty-two respondents replied, making the returned rate of 76.4%. The results show that there exist some differences between theories and practices, but they are not so great as expected. It was found out that there is a difference between what the theorists state and what the practicing managers accept. It was also found out that the library managers agree that the new management theories and techniques can be adopted to their libraries. The hindering factors are found out, and based on the findings, a few suggestions are provided.

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