Both the online and offline survey by the Student Council on 835 UOS students indicated that 79.2 percent of them opposed allowing the public to borrow library books when 15 percent of students approved it. In addition, 85.4 percent of students opposed giving access of open reading rooms, while only 1.8 percent of students supported this action. The reason students are against the open admittance to Main Library is the potential struggle between UOS students and the public over limited space, theft, and noise level.

Regardless of almost unanimous disapproval of students, UOS is under pressure to allow open admittance because firstly, many other public universities such as Seoul National University are opening up their libraries. Secondly, the number of student checkouts is insufficient compared to the high investment cost of the library. Many concerns remain regarding this issue; However, since open access is already decided, it would be best if the Student Council and the library staff could work together to minimize future troubles.

By. Lee Ji-yeon