Digital-age trends and perspectives in Korean university archives

Purpose ‐ Contrary to the development of digital libraries at Korean universities, which has been due to the progress of information technologies, university archives are in their early stages and are not fully using the digital environment. This paper aims to evaluate current trends and possible future directions of university archives in Korea via surveys (questionnaires) and interviews with university archives personnel. Design/methodology/approach ‐ Surveys (questionnaires) and interviews are made at 51 university archives in Korea. Questionnaires, based on university archives guidelines, include 27 questions in 6 categories: foundation principles, functions, process guidelines, facilities, acquisition and management, and access and services. Findings ‐ Basic foundation principles or process guidelines are not yet completely established. Administrative, preservation, and management functions are strong, but research and educational functions, and access and service functions are very weak. Use of information technologies and digital environment are poor also. Cooperation between internal and external institutions is not active. Future directions should address these weak points. Especially, information technologies can efficiently offer support for the development of university archives from the acquisition stage to the user services and preservation stages. Originality/value ‐ This investigation of current trends at university archives in Korea through questionnaires and interviews with staff members and archivists points to future directions for such archives, especially in the application of digital methods. The approach taken and suggestions made might be helpful for other university archives.