The Institute of International Education’s 2012 survey shows that Korean international students in the USA add up to 72, 295 students, including 21,260 graduate students (Institute of International Education, 2013). A survey from Modern Languages Association found that despite the decline of students taking language classes, the students taking Korean language courses has increased about 45% between 2009 and 2013 (Goldberg, Looney & Lusin, 2015).
For university in the Midwest United States, hereafter UMUS, South Korea is the second largest sender of its students to this university, following China (International Student and Scholar Services, 2015). Many of these students’ research topics and extra-curricular activities revolve around diverse facets of Korea. The Korean language courses at UMUS follow the national trend, experiencing about 35% increase in its enrolled students past five years (Song, 2015).
With the increase of interest in Korean culture and a large population of Korean students, the library’s Korean collection is bound to have an increased rate of circulations and programs geared towards this rising population. However, the use of library collections does not reflect the campus or higher education climate of increased interest in Korean studies and Korean language courses as stated above.
This study will investigate the information behavior of students searching for Korean materials at UMUS. In examining students’ behavior during searching processes for materials in Korean Studies, I will discuss how users utilize the university library for print and e-resources. This study will identify gaps in information retrieval process and discuss recommendations for Korean collections
