The purpose of the current research is to find out the effects of various public relations programs of the university library. To be more specific, this research was conducted to investigate if there were differences in visiting the library directly, using the homepage of the library, or using library services according to whether or not to participate in the public relations programs that carried out by the university library. In addition, the researcher investigated the effects of the three types of public relations programs (library user education, cultural event, and other promotional events) on the use of 14 different library services. To do this, the researcher conducted a web survey between March 15 and March 21, 2010 targeting both undergraduate and graduate students of Kyungsung University, and, finally the questionnaires collected from 449 students were empirically analyzed.
The results showed that the students who had more experiences to participate in the library public relations program used the library more often, and that use of library services by the students were affected so differently according to the type of public relations program. When reviewing the research results more closely, whether or not to participate in the library public relations program had nothing to do with direct visit to library. However, there were positive (+) relationships between whether or not to participate in the library public relations program and use of the library homepage and of library services. The results also showed that the students who participated in the library user education programs among the three PR types more often used the professional services (e.g., using full-text e-articles) more frequently than the basic library services (e.g., borrowing services). Furthermore, the students who participated in the promotional programs more often used the online services (e.g., E-Book service) more frequently, and that the students who participated in the cultural event programs more often used the services directly related to the contents of the cultural event (e.g., DVD borrowing) more frequently.
Taken together, in order to reinforce the university library public relations activities, it is necessary to carry out public relations jobs in a very professional manner, and also, it shall be required to strengthen the library user education that greatly affects the use of library services.