National Digital Library of Korea

Overview

The National Digital Library of Korea, nicknamed the "dibrary" (a portmanteau of "digital" and "library"), is a dedicated digital library facility of the National Library of Korea, located on Banpo-ro in Seocho District, Seoul.

History

The facility opened in May 2009 after seven years of construction beginning in 2002, at a budget of approximately 115.2 billion Korean won (roughly US$102 million). Its parent institution, the National Library of Korea, was established in October 1945 (initially as the National Library in Sodong-dong), became the National Library of Korea via the Library Act in October 1963, and moved to its present Banpo-dong site in Seocho District in May 1988. A Digital Library Pilot System was developed in November 1997, and the National Digital Library building opened alongside the launch of the Dibrary Portal in May 2009.

Collections, Holdings, and Publications

The National Digital Library building spans about 38,013 square meters across five underground and three above-ground floors, housing digital collection and user-service space, offices, book storage, and parking. Facilities provide access to more than 800 libraries and institutions worldwide, including the U.S. Library of Congress, totaling more than 264 million pieces of content. It includes a TV studio and user-created content (UCC) studio equipped with camcorders and lighting for producing and editing multimedia, and a Recording Media Museum displaying the history of text, video, and audio media.

Access and Usage

The library also archives Korean-domain websites at regular intervals for future research and uses professional scanning robots to digitize older print materials. It is accessible via Seoul Subway Line 2, Seocho Station, exit 6.